


Kid.

by ChangeTheCircumstances



Series: Along Came a Symbiote [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Everyone is a dork, Fluff, Gen, Other, Peter gets a new friend, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Post-Venom, Pre-Venom, how MCU Peter and Eddie would interact, unlikely friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-07-27 07:24:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16214270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeTheCircumstances/pseuds/ChangeTheCircumstances
Summary: Peter first meets Eddie Brock at Avengers HQ. By this point he can't possibly know how their paths will cross in the future or how the self-centered reporter will grow on him. Definitely in a more literal sense than Peter would have expected too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is largely just me messing with the idea of MCU Peter meeting Tom Hardy's Eddie/Venom. It's not going to have a massively long story. Again, just me wanting to write out some of my headcanons into a more concrete story.
> 
> This first chapter is from Peter's perspective during the end of Homecoming and immediately after, also explaining why Eddie got run out of New York and setting up the Venom movie. The next chapter will be from Eddie/Venom's point of view and it'll take place after the movie Venom and bring the characters together.
> 
> Also this isn't going to be a ship. Spoiler, I'm thinking of this as more of an uncle&nephew kind of relationship. And obviously there's tons of other characters going to be mentioned and pop up in this but I'm not going to bog down the tags with them unless they have a major role in the story. Just know the tags may change!
> 
> Ultimately, it'll probably be about three chapters so I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!

Peter had run off feeling certain in his decision. He’d totally passed that test. Yeah, being an Avenger would be great and all but he still had a lot to learn. Besides, they needed the small people as much as they needed the Avengers. They were busy defending the Earth but who was left to defend the cities or even just the small neighborhoods?

At least that was Peter’s thinking as he walked away and back to the front of Avengers HQ. However, he quickly realized though his exit was well timed, he kind of needed Happy for that ride home. He didn’t have a suit with him to just go swinging back home (maybe he should have taken up Mr. Stark on the new suit offer) and it wasn’t like he could get a cab all the way out here. He slowed his step, only for a person to suddenly bump into him.

Just because he had heightened senses didn’t mean he was always paying attention to them, especially in a situation like this when he didn’t expect any danger.

“Hey, look where you’re going kid.”

“Sorry,” Peter quickly said. He slightly stepped to the side as he looked at the man. A slight frown came on his face as the man didn’t really look like the type that would work at Avengers HQ.

He seemed to be thinking the same thing as he said, “How the hell did you get here?”

“I’m an intern for Mr. Stark,” Peter quickly said, straightening his shoulders and raising his chin just a bit. “Who are you?”

“Just a damn reporter. Jeeze kid,” the man laughed, “try to hold back the first degree.”

The man started walking again and Peter instinctively followed him. He seemed to be going to the front like he was leaving but shouldn’t he be escorted by someone or with a group? “What are you here for?”

“I’m surprised you don’t know.”

“I’ve been in a lab all day,” Peter quickly said.

“Well there was some Avengers news that my editor just wanted me to cover. No one else was available for the press conference but then Stark just turns around and starts talking about getting engaged to his former CEO and just a lot of fluff shit.” The man shook his head with a sigh. He didn’t notice Peter’s surprised looks. Had there really…was Mr. Stark really going to…well either way Peter didn’t regret his decision. And this guy was talking about Ms. Potts? That was great! He’d have to tell Mr. Stark congratulations next time they spoke. He focused back on the man though who was still mumbling about being inconvenienced and how there were more important stories he could be focusing on.

Peter focused more on his face than his voice and slowly started to realize that he seemed a bit familiar. “Wait you’re…aren’t you that one investigative reporter? Who like, always gets into trouble?” Yeah, it definitely was him! And the guy got into so much trouble that Peter was now surprised they hadn’t crossed paths yet.

“Yeah, Eddie Brock.”

Peter’s eyes narrowed. “And you are just leaving. Right?”

“I see my reputation precedes me,” Eddie laughed. “Believe me, I’ve done plenty of stories on Stark in the past and have no desire to do more in the future. Besides, as business men go, now at least he’s pretty damn transparent. No need to defend the rich genius, kid.”

Peter pouted as Eddie laughed again. “Don’t call me that.”

“Kid? Why? You can’t be older than fourteen.”

“I’m sixteen!” Peter exclaimed.

“Good for you kid.”

Peter glared at the back of his head as they continued down the hall. “It’s pronounced Peter.”

“Well thank you. If I’m ever in need of interviewing a kid genius, I’ll contact you,” Eddie sarcastically replied.

Peter just glared a little harder as they came to where a multitude of cars were parked, most belonging to the reporters probably. Peter stopped at the door as he still needed to go back and find Happy. Eddie kept going though he did pause to turn around and wiggle his keys.

He seemed more amused than anything as he smiled and said, “See? I’m leaving? I’ve got absolutely no interest with Stark.”

“If you say so,” Peter simply muttered under his breath. He watched Eddie go to a motorbike and turned around when he was finally speeding out of there. His mind quickly fell on other things and soon all thoughts about the reporter were gone when Peter got home to find the bag on his bed. And then even more so when he realized he had a few things he needed to explain to May.

* * *

There had been a lot of back and forth with May and the whole fact that he was Spider-Man. The one good thing was that she didn’t have a problem with him trying to do good. If anything, she was so damn proud of him, even more knowing that he’d not only stood by what was right to bring his crush’s dad to justice but also valuing his life as well (though Peter did have to convince his aunt not to go down to the prison and give Mr. Toomes a talking to).

Mainly May just wanted to make sure he was safe. Peter did show her some of his abilities to try and reassure her but it was difficult. There were a few fights and of course Uncle Ben was mentioned once or twice but they’d finally come to an agreement. Whatever Peter was doing, wherever he went, he’d tell May everything.

He didn’t want her to worry but he wouldn’t lie to her if knowing where he was would be better than not knowing. Of course, some things didn’t always happen as planned.

Peter was just stopping by the remade bodega. Not everything was back to where it once was but Mr. Stark had helped a lot and Mr. Delmar was working again. Peter was just planning a quick visit and to grab something to drink only for him to run into a familiar face on the way out.

Though he hadn’t thought about him since their unexpected meeting at Avengers HQ, Peter recognized him immediately. “Mr. Brock?”

“Mr.? Shit kid. You can just call me Eddie.”

Peter pouted and was almost ready to open his mouth when Eddie interrupted him.

“Don’t worry. I remember. You’re the head of the defend Anthony Stark fan club,” Eddie snorted.

“Anthony?” Peter muttered, having never heard anyone refer to Mr. Stark like that. Peter just shook his head and quickly said, “I’ve never seen you in here. And I come in here a lot!”

“No need to get suspicious. Just happened to be passing through kid. See you later,” Eddie chuckled.

He walked by Peter, going through the closely knit aisles. Technically Peter should have left it at that but considering the guy was a known investigative reporter and he’d never seen him in this part of town, Peter couldn’t help but wonder if there was a reason for that.

Slipping out and into the nearest alleyway, Peter quickly changed. He’d set it up so he could call Aunt May through his suit’s connections and did so as he quickly jumped to the roof, waiting for Eddie to leave the building.

“Hey May, I might be a little late for dinner.”

“Peter, what are you up to?”

“Nothing! I mean-it’s just this reporter I’m following real quick. It might be nothing.”

“Do you actually mean that?”

“I promise! It’s just a hunch. I’ll itch it and then I’ll be back before you know it,” Peter promised. Just then, he watched as Eddie left the store. It looked like he was headed towards one of the nearby buildings that had gotten damaged because of Toomes’ weapons. It had been under renovations to begin with and the added damage had just set it back more so there hadn’t been many people in or out for a while. At least that’s what Peter had thought.

“I’ll call you back May. Promise.”

“Ten minutes Peter! If you don’t send me a text in—”

“I promise!” Peter quickly replied as he jumped over and quickly swung to the other building. It was dark enough that no one really noticed as Peter stuck to the wall.

Very slowly, he crawled around the building, watching as Eddie tested a back door and then quickly broke in. Peter tutted and much more gracefully slipped threw a top floor window. Right away he could tell there was something going on in here.

He listened to Karen read out the toxins in the air. Alright, so some type of drug lab was going on in the lower levels. He wondered how Eddie had come across this.

“Accessing thermal imaging,” Karen read out. “Six men below you. Four more on the second floor. Edward Brock Jr. is moving through the first floor now. He appears to be looking through documents.”

“Thanks Karen,” Peter replied. Sadly there wasn’t going to be a lot of room to move quietly with this but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

He went to the nearest stairwell and carefully started to walk down. He’d have to secure the lab going in. He didn’t want the entire building to go up. Thankfully he’d been practicing with some of the new powers and he got the heavier impact web ready.

Coming up close on the third story door, Peter murmured, “You ready Karen?”

She replied, polite as ever. “Of course Peter.”

Still using the thermal imagining, Peter timed it just as he knew no one was facing the door. He slipped in and immediately stuck two guys to a wall. As chaos began to ensue, Peter jumped over, hitting the closer one and webbing up a gun that someone else tried to pull out. He quickly got out a trip mine and shot it at the door as a guy tried to run, only to get slammed into it and stuck to the wood. He webbed one guy’s mouth and then turned to the rest.

“Don’t you guys have like bodyguards or something? I’m pretty sure I saw that in a movie once!” Peter quickly quipped, knocking one guy out. He managed to grab a second gun and whipped it around, knocking out the guy who’d tried to pull the trigger. The last one who was only just now getting the webbing off his mouth was quickly ambushed by more webbing and then Peter spun around and just barely caught a flask from falling over and creating a rather dangerous chemical reaction.

“That was almost forty-eight milliseconds too close,” Karen helpfully stated as Peter ever so slowly pulled back on his webbing and put the flask back in its place.

“Thanks,” Peter sighed. With everything stable and the others webbed up or knocked out, Peter quickly rushed to the window. “They heard the noise downstairs and—” Peter changed to thermal imaging again and let out a tired sigh.

“It seems Edward Brock Jr. has been cornered at the back door.”

“Alright, I guess we’re skipping the second floor for now and going straight to the first,” replied Peter. He quickly backed up and then jumped straight through the window, webbing the wall and arching right into a window on the first floor. There were still two people on the second floor but this way Peter would cut them off as he kept Eddie from getting hurt.

He timed it just right as he knocked a man into a wall and easily landed, crouched on the floor.

“Anyone mind if we cut this short? I was looking forward to having dinner at a reasonable time tonight.”

Eddie blinked in surprise, clearly about to ask if it was really Spider-Man right there in front of him. Peter quickly webbed his hand to the wall so that way he’d know the reporter would be out of the way for the fight and said, “Not now kid. The grownups have some business to take care of.”

Peter took just a little too much joy out of that line and Eddie’s facial reaction as Peter immediately went into punching and kicking the bad guys. Because it was such a small, enclosed space, Peter jumped from the wall to the ceiling and back again as he dodged their attacks. The two guys on the second floor tried to come down and help but Peter webbed a nearby box. As he swung it around, he yelled, “Duck!” and Eddie just barely did so in time.

“Really, no Walter White? Gus Fring? I thought drug dealers were supposed to be more exciting than this.”

He waited for a split second but of course no one could respond. Well, except Eddie who was kind of pathetic as he grunted and attempted to reach for a sharp object clearly out of reach.

“You alright kid?” Peter asked, a little tongue in cheek as Eddie shot him a glare.

“You can’t call me kid when you clearly sound no older than twenty-two.”

Peter resisted the urge to puff out his chest. He didn’t want to over compensate and basically confirm how young he was. He’d learned that lesson with the whole voice fiasco.

“Just think of the experience I have on you,” Peter replied, “because you clearly haven’t been in enough fights Ed-Mr.Brock.”

“Wait-you know who I am?”

The older man finally stopped trying to reach for something to cut the webbing (which wouldn’t have worked anyways) as he looked at Spider-Man.

“I try to keep an eye on my publicity. Or lack thereof.” That was true enough and though he hadn’t consciously thought on the reporter in the past weeks, he could recall that none of Brock’s news worthy headlines had contained him in it. “You’re not like Jameson, are you?” Peter asked, referring to probably the most vocal radio show host who was against Spider-Man.

Eddie snorted. “I actually do what a reporter’s meant to do,” he said, just a little condescendingly. “I discover the news. I don’t just make up what I want.”

Peter nodded, appreciating that answer even if it didn’t really tell him what Eddie thought of Spider-Man personally. Before he could ask, sirens were sounding off in the distance. Peter glanced to the window before looking to Eddie. “All you?”

“Yeah. That and managed to send some of the evidence I captured before they broke my damn phone.”

“Care to share?”

“I think I’m good.”

“Ah, not the partner type?”

“No,” Eddie deadpanned.

“This could become a thing,” Peter teased. “Investigative journalist and Spider-Man! Taking down criminals one by one! Well, actually I think it would be more Spider-Man repeatedly saves investigative journalist instead.”

“Yeah, not happening,” Eddie replied.

Peter shrugged. “Well it was worth a shot.” He started to walk away just as Eddie leaned over as far as he could and reached out to him.

“Hang on a second! You still need to get me out of this webbing!”

“Oh don’t worry kid, I’m sure the cops will help,” Peter replied, smirking under his mask as Eddie let out a disgruntled groan.

Peter then disappeared out another window before Eddie could say more and called up Aunt May just before she was allowed to start worrying.

“Everything alright Peter?”

“Yeah, just some small time drug lab. Helped keep the reporter out of harm’s way too,” Peter replied. “I’m heading over right now. Don’t start cooking without me!”

* * *

To be perfectly honest, Peter had thought it might be fun to have a sidekick in the field. After telling Ned about the encounter, he assured his best friend that Ned was the only real sidekick for him, and was a huge help all the time. However, Peter would never want him out in the field with him where he could get hurt.

And yeah, from what he’d watched and read, Eddie was a bit self-centered and didn’t really work well with others, but it could have been useful being in contact with someone from the press. And Eddie had been honest when Peter had read up his report on the small time drug bust. There was a quick comment saying, “Spider-Man seemed too focused on saying an entertaining catchphrase than securing the scene as effectively as possible,” which had Peter rolling his eyes.

He could easily do both thank you very much!

But, the report had been fair and Peter was curious what story Eddie had been following as it didn’t make since that someone with his reputation would be going after some small time drug dealers.

Peter had hoped to get involved, that he could be of more help. It would have also been amusing to save Eddie again and call the much older man “kid”. However, before any of that could really formulate, Eddie effectively disappeared from New York.

It took some digging around but Peter quickly figured out that Eddie had been going after Wilson Fisk. If there was any evidence of the connection between Fisk and the drug lab, Peter couldn’t find it. Apparently Eddie had just pissed off the wrong people. Though the fact that he’d left New York so suddenly suggested he’d been looking in the right direction, even if his plan hadn’t really paid off.

Peter had heard the rumors like everyone else, but he could already tell that taking down a guy like Wilson Fisk would be leagues away from someone like Adrian Toomes. It would take months, years possibly to get dirt on the guy. And it wasn’t just a guy and his band of makeshift criminals, Fisk practically had an Empire at his fingertips.

For the moment, Peter couldn’t do much about it except keep his ears and eyes open as he began to really cement himself as New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and simply tried to be a better and better hero with every encounter.

From there, Eddie Brock slipped from Peter’s mind. At least for the next eleven months.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there will be more than three chapters (could just be four or more, not sure yet). For this chapter, I went back and forth on a few ideas of how Venom and Peter meet. I like the one I chose (and I think it'll pay off in the next chapter) so I hope you like it too! Also, I've pulled a lot of ideas from some of the comics and from Insomniac's Spider-Man to help fill out the world a bit.
> 
> And Mary Brock is canonically Eddie's older sister on Earth-616 in the comics. She doesn't seem to have a very big roll and I don't think she's in any of the other series but I needed a way to get Eddie back to New York without it being some massive, in depth explanation.
> 
> Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing Eddie and Venom in this chapter and I hope I got it right! Their voices in the movie and ways of referring to each other is pretty different at times from the comics so I really hope that it does sound in character for the movie versions.
> 
> So thanks again and I hope you enjoy! Likely won't get out a chapter every single day but I wanted to get this one out quickly since the last one was more of a prologue/set-up. Thanks again and enjoy!

For the most part, Eddie had gotten his job back ever since the Carlton Drake fiasco had gone down. Though a fair amount about the symboites and Drake’s discovery of a new alien life was unknown to the public, they finally knew how hypocritical his message had been. It wasn’t much, but knowing that those who’d lost their lives hadn’t died in vain meant something, and at least that was one less threat to the more vulnerable people of San Francisco.

Now Eddie was going where the story was, moving up and down rather freely on the West Coast. He’d avoided seeing Anne for a while, not because he didn’t want to, and Venom certainly supported the idea of seeing her, but it just didn’t feel right. It would have felt like he was forcing his way back into Anne’s life. It wasn’t about how he felt about her because he still loved her. He was pretty sure she still cared about him though sometimes things got muddled up with Venom’s feelings and thoughts.

Instead, part of the reason was that he didn’t want to put her in danger again. It was partially why he hadn’t mentioned Venom’s survival though there was a chance she’d caught on. Also, Eddie just didn’t want to be there to sabotage Anne and Dan’s relationship. It had quickly become obvious he wasn’t just some rebound. There was something there and Eddie didn’t want to be the reason they broke it off. Besides, he liked Dan, though Venom was still a bit lukewarm on the guy considering he’d separated them.

Venom had originally supported the idea of biting Dan’s head off even more after that, but Eddie had quickly shut that down. He’d also reminded the symbiote that being separated for a bit had probably done them some good, made them reevaluate their options so to speak. That had made him a bit more welcoming towards Dan. They’d just have to wait and see how he’d react the next time they met up with the doctor.

So for the most part, it was just Eddie and the symbiote together. Venom had gotten better at not being so vocal when Eddie was trying to work, not unless Eddie got in over his head and he needed a little help from the parasite (yeah he was still calling him that; what was he going to do, eat him?).

And then of course there was that one conversation they had about talking.

_You know you can talk with me psychically, right?_

“Are you kidding me!?”

Everyone that was sitting with him on the trolley stared at Eddie and he tiredly wiped his face.

“You mean you’ve been letting me talk to myself in public like a crazy person and we could have been doing that from the start?” Eddie angrily hissed.

 _Yes_ , the symbiote replied, the voice so smug, Eddie could feel the smile in it.

Eddie softly cursed under his breath as he felt Venom move around him, like a hug from behind.

 _Concentrate on just your thoughts_ , he instructed, voice slow and with less of a bite.

Eddie closed his eyes for a second to try. _Like this?_

 _Exactly_ , rumbled Venom’s voice. _Though I didn’t realize you had to close your eyes to think. Remarkable that you don’t run into more walls._

Eddie instinctively opened his mouth but just barely managed to keep himself from talking. He blinked his eyes open before rolling them and saying, _Shut up_.

That had been a monumentally helpful discovery though it was still instinct for Eddie to speak out loud. Now he mostly tried to remember to use their connection when around people but he still liked talking to Venom out loud when they were alone.

Otherwise, it had been a busy few months as Eddie really stepped back into the scene. Venom protected him whenever he got in over his head and sometimes Eddie wondered what he’d do if people connected him with the blurry, shaky images and videos of Venom attacking a group of mercenaries or drug dealers or whatever. One thing that certainly helped was that those that directly saw him change were either eaten or probably too scared to bring it up with anyone (and Mrs. Chen seemed pretty happy without the weekly visits though they hadn’t exactly talked about what had happened).

Then there was of course the fact that the world seemed to be ending every five seconds whether from ancient alien elves or Hydra or Chitauri or robots. Though one could argue having Venom in your backyard was a more pressing matter, everything that happened up in the air was definitely a lot grander and bigger and had more people looking skyward. And those that did discuss the creature on their streets talked about it more like it was some new Big Foot. Oh if only they knew.

Now it was time for a change of scenery though. His older sister was getting married which meant heading back to New York. He’d been surprised to see her number appearing on his phone. Their relationship in the past few years had been strained at best, partially their own doing and also the rather strenuous relationship Eddie had with their dad that his sister didn’t.

But the wedding had been a long time coming and Eddie admittedly wanted to be there. He’d just have to suck it up with his dad and remember now wouldn’t be the time to argue. After Eddie had made the arrangements, Venom had flowed out to look at Eddie with his own eyes since they were just in his apartment.

“So we’ll eat him.”

“What?” Eddie said it even though it only took a few seconds for Venom’s thoughts to wash over him. He let out a disgruntled sigh and shook his head. “We’re not eating my father.”

“We eat bad men.”

“He’s not…a bad man. He’s an asshole. There’s a difference.”

“We eat—”

“I know where this is going so just stop,” Eddie quickly said before it could sound any dirtier.

“Buzz kill. And I can still eat him,” Venom replied as Eddie walked to the kitchen. _Just one bite and the problem is gone._

“I think it would cause more problems than stop any,” Eddie replied. “Besides, he probably tastes more like cigarettes than human now.”

“We don’t like cigarettes.”

“No, exactly.” Eddie went to the drawer that had essentially become the candy drawer. He grabbed a chocolate bar and unwrapped it. “No eating my dad and you definitely can’t show yourself to my sister.”

 _She wouldn’t like me_ , Venom replied, pulling upon some of Eddie’s memories.

 _No, don’t say that_ , Eddie thought, almost like he was wrapping Venom up with his own internal voice. “I’m sure she would love you,” he slowly said. “She just might have a heart attack before she can get to know you.” _Now, no killing my dad._

Eddie offered up the chocolate and Venom ate it, sealing the promise. If his father’s heart wasn’t so shit from all the smoking though, Eddie might have let Venom spook him just a bit. Would have definitely been worth it and there’d be no more risk of the old man giving him shit either. Eddie could feel Venom’s dark, warm chuckle at the thought.

With that figured out, they packed and Eddie rented out a car since biking the over forty hours to New York wasn’t realistic and no way in hell were they going anywhere near an airport (which Eddie was extra fine with seeing as he’d avoided them before anyways). It also meant Venom could rest on Eddie’s shoulder throughout most of the drive.

If anyone had asked, Eddie wouldn’t have admitted that he liked that extra level of touch, but that didn’t really matter. The one thing that should know how he felt did.

There whole…relationship was something that had been constantly talked about. Eddie got nervous, and when he got nervous he rambled. Granted, he rambled when he was happy too. Or upset. Or angry. Basically except when he was working and in his element, he just rambled a lot and kind of hoped something intelligible came out when he did it. That was something Venom found incredibly amusing.

But they were talking it through and besides the obvious fact that Venom had to have a host to survive, Venom had chosen him. Eddie had somehow changed his mind. And the thought of being without the symbiote now? It just wasn’t something Eddie really wanted to comprehend.

What all that meant, Eddie wasn’t sure. But, assuming they had a long ways ahead of them, Eddie was sure they’d figure it out.

The drive was long with lots of fast food stops and constant fighting over what music to play. Venom also asked about New York and Eddie told him what growing up on the island had been like. He also talked about the church that his sister was getting married in and thankfully the age of the bells meant they couldn’t be rung without risk of further damage. It wouldn’t do anyone good for them to suddenly freak out in the middle of her wedding.

They arrived in New York the day before the wedding and though they were supposed to be at the rehearsal that night, they basically had all day to explore the city. Though obviously hidden, Eddie could feel Venom taking in all the details, some of which he compared to Eddie’s memories to try and get the feel of the place’s history.

 _Many heroes come from here_ , Venom commented.

 _Yeah, I guess you could say that. All started with Anthony Stark deciding to jump in a tin can and fly around the world_ , Eddie mentally replied. He walked with his hands in his pockets, moving quickly and without hesitation. San Francisco was big but New York was a different beast altogether. He slowly started to realize he’d been fooling himself when he’d left.

He missed home. This home.

He’d told Anne that he’d moved out there because her job had moved out there. That he’d wanted to be with her and that he hadn’t been run out of New York. But…no. He really had missed this place and he’d never really wanted to leave. It made the idea of going back to San Francisco a little sour even though he essentially had his life back. He had a job, he’d moved into a better apartment, but New York…

Eddie’s thoughts were interrupted as Venom let out a low dark chuckle.

“What?” Eddie grumbled, speaking out loud before he could stop himself. A woman near him frowned like he’d been talking to her, but Eddie didn’t even spare her a second glance and kept walking.

_Imagining you trapped in a suit of armor way up in the sky. You wouldn’t survive._

_Yeah, no shit. I’m happy here on the ground thank you very much._

_I would have thought your fears would have been bashed after our fight with Riot._

_No, I’m pretty sure they fucking intensified._

_Bitch._

_Parasite._

_Hey!!!_

Eddie smirked, hugging himself as he kept walking. To an outsider, it might have looked like he was cold but it definitely wasn’t that. “It’s endearment.”

_Is not!!!_

Eddie kept grinning only to suddenly jolt in his step. They’d felt—

A blast occurred, knocking the doors off a nearby bank.

_Hmm, lunch._

Eddie could feel Venom gearing up for a fight but Eddie quickly dragged him out of the way. “Not right here!” he hissed.

 _You’ve never cared before!_ Venom sulked.

_Yeah, well we typically do this in the middle of the night and not on a street as crowded as New York. And we have a wedding to go to tomorrow! I’d rather not become the news and drag all the glory away from my sister._

_Well, we’re alone now…_

_Fine. But remember we can’t just change back in front of everyone—hey!_

Venom wrapped himself around Eddie and suddenly they were running up and over the building.

 _You couldn’t have waited for me to finish my sentence?_ asked Eddie.

“I’m hungry.”

Venom could feel Eddie rolling his eyes inside him as they watched the perpetrator run out of the building and then suddenly leap into the air.

“This looks like fun,” Venom growled, his smile stretching across his face. It was honestly hard for Eddie not to do the same. It looked like this might be a little challenging.

They leaped from the building, running down the perp. in his suit as people screamed and quickly got out of the way. When the guy seemed to realize he was being followed, he looked back and immediately faltered, not expecting Venom to be staring back with his large teeth and tongue whipping back and forth.

“Holy shit!”

The man blasted some type of wave towards them. If it had hit them, it might have caused some damage or at least discomfort but the man’s reflexes were far too slow. They moved over and down, almost catching the man but he jumped off before they could.

Venom’s teeth clacked together with vicious glee and the chase continued.

Though mindful of the people around and underneath them, they certainly caused a fair amount of chaos too as cars skidded to a halt and people ducked away and into stores. They caught the man again on the sidewalk as people quickly cleared out of the way, this time managing to get a hand on him before he could get away.

“Hmm, not your first attempt at robbery,” Venom pleasantly growled, looking over the suits design. Their hand tightened just a little, the metal of the suit straining and breaking in their hand. “A crunchy snack. Like a pretzel.”

Venom’s mouth opened wider just as two things happened. First, the man screamed, and second, their snack was suddenly knocked from their hand and webbed against the wall.

“Woah there new guy! I don’t know about you, but we don’t eat people in New York.”

Venom’s head whipped around, the symbiote taking in Eddie’s memories in order to figure out what was now crouched above them.

“Spider-Man.”

“Oh wow, I can’t believe The Thing knows who I am! Wait-no. Probably can’t use that. I think it’s copyrighted.”

“Still a jabbering fool I see.”

“Do I know you—woah!”

Just then, the robber broke free of the webbing as another shockwave shook the street. “I’m out of here!”

“Oh no you don’t Herman!”

Both Venom and Spider-Man launched themselves at the robber. Spider-Man glanced at Venom as they rushed up the building and chased the man over roof tops.

“Hey, not that I don’t mind some help with stopping crime, but I can’t let you eat Herman!” Spider-Man cried out.

Venom let out a large growl as the smaller one used his size to gain on Herman faster.

_We could eat him—_

_Last time I checked, Spider-Man was one of the heroes. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to eat him,_ Eddie replied.

_He blocked our luch!_

Eddie rolled his eyes as they continued the chase all the same. It was clear the symbiote was irritated at Spider-Man, but Eddie could tell he was fascinated by the faster, smaller person. Though Eddie was of the opinion that Spider-Man was an actual person and not one of the million, crazy theories people liked to pour out, it had to be odd for Venom, seeing something that might naturally match him in a fight. Eddie was curious too as he’d only had that one odd encounter with the guy.

Though Eddie had never been interested in covering Spider-Man and had a pretty indifferent opinion of the guy, now was different. He could sense him through Venom. Already he knew there was no way Venom would actually eat Spider-Man now, no matter how irritated he was at having his meal stopped.

They were both too curious.

The chase became mainly contained to the roof tops, Spider-Man webbing bits and pieces together to try and keep debrief from falling on people. There was one moment where they were two slow though. Herman’s shockwave knocked a massive chunk of concrete loose but before it could do any damage, Venom broke it into dust even as they kept up the chase, several people saved because of it.

Spider-Man seemed to take notice, the mechanical eyes widening just a bit. He seemed to be thinking quickly, choosing between two approaches before he suddenly shouted, “You’re pretty strong right?!”

“Don’t insult us!”

“Us? Are you like some hive mind-no! Wait! Questions for later! Can you launch me?!”

Just as quickly, they had to come to an agreement. Both were hesitant for different reasons but it seemed like it would be the most effective way to catch the robber.

“Yes,” hissed Venom.

Right away, they shifted closer and Spider-Man reacted. Using their combined momentum, Venom managed to latch onto Spider-Man and send him flying forward even faster. However, just as they did that, something else occurred. The touch had them noting things, bits of information Eddie never would have been able to pick up on his own.

Though muscled and clearly superhuman, Venom’s immediate thought was, _This is not a fully formed human._

Eddie was getting the same information, just processing it in a slightly different way. The level of hormones, that voice. He’d thought the guy had sounded young in that one encounter nearly a year ago but now he actually knew. It wasn’t a man. It was a fucking kid!

And then there was something else. Some type of information that Venom had pulled forward that was pulling at Eddie’s memories at the same time. Some type of conclusion was trying to form.

At the same time, Spider-Man roughly knocked Herman down and webbed up his devices more effectively this time, adding what looked to be an electric webbing which short circuited them.

“I gotta say, I like the new look you’re going for but did it really have to be robbing the same bank? Again? I feel like I’m in Groundhog’s Day—”

“Ahh! Ahh! Get that thing away from me! Get it the fuck away from me!”

“Woah their!” Spider-Man quickly said, jumping around and putting his hands up.

Venom had come closer to them though they were now much more focused on Spider-Man rather than their missed snack.

“Herman may not be the brightest guy I’ve ever met—”

“Hey!”

“But he definitely doesn’t deserve to be eaten.”

Venom ignored the quip, only getting closer with narrowed eyes. Spider-Man didn’t back up, an action that even he seemed confused by. They seemed to sense that Spider-Man understood that they weren’t trying to hurt him as they leaned forward. At least that’s how Spider-Man reacted until their black tendrils shot around one of his arms.

“Stop! Stop! Bad touch! Bad touch!”

Spider-Man tried to launch himself back but Venom kept a tight grip. They just needed enough time to figure out the connection. They got a sense of the kid’s fear flaring up along with some smaller emotions. What they were searching for was a self image though.

Ultimately, Eddie never would have made the connection without Venom. Though the memories were still there, they hadn’t been significant enough for him to really recall them in perfect clarity. But Venom saw the connection and brought them back up, fresh and bright. Understanding and surprise ran through Eddie as the symbiote’s curiosity grew.

They leaned forward again. With the deep voice, they whispered so that the criminal behind them couldn’t hear.

“Peter?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously didn't expect this story to blow up so much! Thank you to all the kudos and comments! It seriously means so much and I'm having so much fun writing this! Thank you and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Peter stared. How could-this creature couldn’t possibly-and when those things had touched him-what—

Before he could say anything the creature disappeared over the edge. Peter quickly composed himself as best he could, turning to Herman as he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to leave a tracker so the police find you nice and quick.”

“Hey!”

Peter did just that as his mind ran in circles. He went to the ledge the creature had disappeared from, expecting it to just be gone. However, it was actually waiting in the alleyway and…shrinking?

He immediately jumped down, needing to know how much of a threat this thing could be. He’d been worried about Toomes coming forward and revealing his identity but after several weeks, that worry had slipped away. There was of course a possibility that Toomes was just planning his revenge behind the scenes and didn’t want others to get in his way, but Peter liked to think he’d earned some respect from the man and that he’d kept the identity secret for a good reason.

But this thing that had come out of nowhere, that Peter had never heard of before, how did it know? Or they? Was it collective? When he’d touched it, Peter had seemingly felt something else moving in there, at least two separate things bonded as one. What was it? What did it want?

And just as Peter landed in front of it, the thing advanced. The tendrils of black moved out and away, the mouth came open and Peter saw a man step forward, finger raised as he said, “I can’t believe you’re just a damn kid! Who the hell let’s you do this because your parents sure as hell wouldn’t allow it! Is it Stark? Because that would make perfect sense as to how you’d be at Avengers HQ and—”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Peter quickly said, trying some small form of denial. “If you’ve been stalking me—”

“I haven’t-shut up.”

“I didn’t—”

“Not you,” the guy interrupted. “No, you don’t remember, do you?”

“Remember…” Peter stopped, forcing his way past the shock and really looking at the guy. His mind had still been so focused on the fact he’d seen a mass of goo with teeth turn into a guy that he hadn’t actually been looking at the man himself. Though he wasn’t really used to exactly this, Peter was certainly more so expecting a fight. Not to get yelled at and called a child! “You…you look…the reporter! You’re the one I followed that one night! E-Eddie! Eddie Brock!”

“Yes,” Eddie sighed.

“You-what-what are you? You were normal when we—”

“Normal?!” Out of nowhere the goo seemed to amass on Eddie’s shoulders, the eyes and teeth now detached from a more solid form as it moved in the air. Peter jumped back as Eddie put a hand towards the floating face.

“Hey, the kid didn’t mean it,” Eddie soothed, only a slight growl escaping the teeth filled mouth.

“U-uh yeah. I mean I can stick to walls. What’s normal? Right?” Peter nervously chuckled. “But what…what happened?”

Peter watched as some unspoken words seemed to pass between Eddie and the creature. It shrunk back, disappearing somewhere on Eddie’s person as the man said, “I don’t think an alleyway is really a great place to discuss this.”

“Well hang on! You can’t just leave! I don’t know if you’re a threat or not.”

“A threat?” Eddie asked with an incredulous look.

“Well, yeah. You tried to eat Herman!”

Eddie looked like he was about to explain himself but then thought better of it. He just shook his head and said, “Semantics. But if you want to talk, I’m not doing it here.”

“Wait-will you?”

“It’s your turf. No, he is right. I get where the kid’s coming from. Yes exactly-and no you can’t do that. It would just be better to get through with this because—”

“Sorry,” interrupted Peter, “but are you talking to me or that para—”

“Woah there! Only I get to call him that,” Eddie said, a smirk suddenly flashing on his face as if in response to something the creature had said. “He’s a symbiote. You can call him Venom, or we are Venom, depending on how you look at it.”

“Um well Eddie-or uh, Venom, sir, I’m sorry but I really can’t let you just wander off in the city.”

Eddie laughed, seeming amused at what Peter had said. He simply replied, “If you want, you can follow us and ask some questions, but we need to eat.”

“Hey! I said no—”

“Christ, we don’t eat anyone kid!” Eddie exclaimed. “If anything, I typically try to keep him from doing it. Naw, we’re going for tater tots-yes tater-don’t worry. I know a good place near here. So if you really want to talk follow me.”

“Oh. Um…” Peter hadn’t really expected that. He still didn’t want to completely let Eddie out of his sight but he seemed genuinely ok with talking. Just really hungry and a bit antsy now. “Ok. Just…I have a backpack nearby. Let me change and I’ll—”

“Fine. We can meet at Crif’s. I’ll see you there kid,” Eddie replied. He turned back towards the street, casually walking away as the police sirens finally started to come their way for Herman.

Peter watched him go, almost wondering if he should stop him. There were so many things Peter didn’t understand right now and again, his main worry was that Eddie-or Venom, were basically a threat. Yet at the same time they’d stopped to keep that piece of concrete from falling on those people. Doing that had only slowed them down. They might have even lost Herman because of it. But they’d still saved those people.

Whether that action had been more Eddie or Venom, Peter wasn’t sure. However, he decided to put his trust in the guy. From what he could vaguely remember of him, he’d gotten in trouble a lot and could be a little self-centered, but he’d cared about the people he was covering and he’d always done stories that mattered, that could make a difference. Hopefully that part of him was still there and he kept his word.

With his decision made, Peter shot out his web and swung away as Eddie walked back onto the open streets.

* * *

_Why trust him?_

_Well he did help me out that one time._

_More like saved your skin._

_I would have been fine on my own._

_I’ve seen you on your own with guns. You would not have._

Eddie rolled his eyes. _Listen, we showed ourselves and now we need to make sure the kid doesn’t see us as a threat. Again, I really don’t want to become the news before my sister’s wedding._

_You’re conflicted._

_About what?!_

_You admire the Spider-Man’s sense to do right. Yet wary about what he could do in a fight against us. And then there’s the fact he is a child._

_Yeah, well I’ve done some stories where having a good conscious has gotten people killed. Including kids._

_You worry?_ questioned Venom.

_He’s a kid! How can I not?_

_Is this like how you convinced me to give away that last piece of chocolate to appease the small one?_

_Sort of,_ Eddie responded, recalling one time a kid had seen them. They’d been in the middle of walking home from the store when a mugging had gone down. The kid hadn’t been the one being mugged, she’d just been nearby when it had happened. Eddie hadn’t realized she’d seen everything at first, and when he did, he was fighting Venom to give up some of the snacks they’d gotten.

Venom had agreed when Eddie had promised they’d go straight back and buy more and then they’d gone over to the trembling kid. They’d talked briefly but the kid hadn’t screamed and had gone from scared to more confused, at least as they’d handed her the candy and patted her head.

_You are kindest to the adolescents of your species._

_Well for the most part none of them are dicks yet like adults are. And I’d be a dick if I was mean to them._

_You are not a dick. You are a bitch._

_You know, we really need to work on your vocabulary._

_It’s not my fault bitch encompasses who you are._

_Alright parasite._

Eddie could feel the irritation from Venom run over him and laughed in response.

_Bitch._

_Parasite._

_Bitch._

_We’re just going in circles with this._

_Bitch._

_I’ll let you pick what we eat._

_…fine._

Eddie rolled his eyes, continuing down the street. Walking around New York was instinctive, even after about a year away. He didn’t even need to look for directions as he spotted the restaurant across the street and headed towards it. As he walked in, the hunger they were feeling increased with the new smells wafting over them. Eddie also sensed the kid before he actually saw him.

He looked relieved that Eddie had actually made it. Eddie slid in across the booth just as a waiter came over and said, “I see your uncle made it.”

“U—”

“Yep,” Peter quickly said, piping up before Eddie could question it. “I already ordered so go ahead.”

“Right,” Eddie slowly said, glancing down at the menu. “I’ll have—”

_Not that one._

“Um, the—”

_Or that one._

“The—”

_Or that one._

_You know for someone who made me eat a live lobster and trash chicken you sure are picky today._

_Hmm…that one._

_You sure?_

_Yes, two._

_What about three and then four orders of tater tots? You want chili on them?_

_Yeeeees._

Eddie chuckled to himself and then ordered, used to the stares that happened when he went overboard like this. Usually he went straight home where he could gorge on whatever was in the fridge or occasionally ate out during a fight. However, Peter had interrupted that attempt at a meal and all that running around had increased the hunger tenfold. The fact that they’d missed breakfast due to driving into New York at that time hadn’t helped either.

The waiter stuttered over the numbers, making sure that he’d meant what he’d said which he absolutely had. One glance at the kid showed a look of utter fascination. If it had been coming from some old creep in a lab coat, Eddie might have been a bit irritated or disturbed. It was more endearing on Peter’s young face though, his curiosity clearly showing through.

The moment the waiter reluctantly walked away, head probably still spinning from the order, Eddie asked, “Uncle?”

“It’s better than saying I’m meeting a Muk with teeth that can turn itself into a reporter.”

“A what?” Eddie asked just as Venom and Peter said, _It’s a Pokémon_ /“It’s a Pokémon.”

“How the hell do you know about Pokémon?”

“Because it was popular when I was growing up?” questioned Peter.

“Not you.”

“Oh, right. Wait, it knows about Pokémon? Is it even an it?” Peter asked as Venom said, _I’ve looked it up on the internet when you sleep. Sometimes I get bored._

“God I need to go check my search history more often,” mumbled Eddie.

“What?” asked Peter.

“Nothing. And um, in answer to your question he’s-well he can take the form of the host. So it kind of just depends. He seems fine with he. At least with me. It’s how I refer to him.” _I’m just now realizing I never asked._

_Your use of pronouns is acceptable._

_Oh good._

“So the symbiote, Venom, does it like…have to eat people?” Peter carefully asked.

“No, though it helps. If we don’t eat enough, he kind of starts eating me alive. It’s a work in progress.”

“And the people you’ve eaten…”

“All trying to kill me in some form or another. Except for a few that were abusing others.”

“Herman wasn’t though. I mean he definitely wasn’t in the right but—”

“I get that,” sighed Eddie. “In retrospect, I think we were both a bit antsy. We’ve been in a car for three days now.”

“Where’d you come from? Why not just fly?”

“Ok, how about I just give you a rundown of things and then you do the same for me. Deal kid?”

“Only if you also agree not to call me kid,” Peter replied.

“I don’t think so. Not after all that talk you gave me in that abandoned building a year ago.”

Peter winced. “You remember that?”

“If there’s one thing I remember, it’s being demeaningly called ‘kid’ by what I thought was a twenty-two year old and which I now realize is a fifteen year old.”

“I’m seventeen, ok? I’m not—”

“You are still very much a kid.”

“No-well, I mean yeah but just…it makes it sound like you’re talking down to me. And whatever you’re about to throw at me I can take it.”

Eddied looked him over first before making his decision. The kid did have a point and at least now he’d responded with a more mature, calm answer rather than just whining about it. “Well then…Pete, I’ll tell you what happened to me and then you get to tell me what happened to you.”

Peter’s face immediately lit up at being referred to by his name, maybe even more so at the nickname, and Eddie quickly launched into the story. He basically told the truth, just glossing over some details that he doubted Peter wanted to hear. Venom added some things which Eddie added in as the symbiote wouldn’t stop pestering him until he did.

As the food started to come out, Eddie started shoveling things into his mouth, trying to find a balance between eating as quickly as possible and not looking like a complete slob while still talking. Peter unexpectedly laughed about the part where Eddie had broken open a door only to suddenly be combined with Venom for the first time. Eddie had left out the parts about all the captured, dying, and dead people so he managed to keep the wince off his face, only Venom feeling the mixture of dark feelings Eddie had at remembering that day.

Peter quickly explained himself before it could get awkward though, saying, “The same thing basically happened to me. We were doing this tour at Oscorp and I wandered off where I wasn’t supposed to. It really was pure chance. And I almost didn’t even go to the fieldtrip because I was kind of sick that day!”

Eddie did chuckle at that, pushing the bad memories back as he simply said, “I guess we’re the poster images for why people should mind their own business. Huh?”

 _Hey!_ Venom said as Peter laughed.

_Don’t worry. Just a joke._

_Really?_

_You can tell it is._

Venom tested the feelings and then calmed down, acknowledging that Eddie hadn’t literally meant it. Eddie had regrets, certainly, but he’d come to find that being bonded with Venom wasn’t one of them.

Eddie continued on until most of the conversation switched over to Peter. Eddie was a bit surprised the kid was being so open but then, he probably didn’t have a lot of people he could talk to about this. During Peter’s turn, Eddie finished off everything and ordered another thing of tater tots and then a chocolate milkshake.

Peter shook his head. “You’re eating well over three thousand calories in this meal alone. You have to be burning anywhere between twice to five times as many calories per day as a normal person, the amount adjusting to how much physical exertion you put out, which I wonder what the difference is between the symbiote’s exertion and yours and then you as a collective. To keep up your metabolism must be—”

“Woah, slow down Pete. Everything you’re saying is just going over our head,” Eddie said.

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. Just lost me for a second. Though I can see now how you could have built so much of your tech.”

“Yeah, well having Mr. Stark’s resources really helped too,” Peter admitted. It was all smiles but then Peter’s lips immediately turned down. “I…thank you for talking to me. I don’t think you’re a threat to…most people. But I can’t have you eat anyone. Even criminals. If you try something like that again…I will stop you.”

Eddie was silent for a moment. Gone were the quips and jokes or childish outcries. Despite what Eddie had seen and what Peter had said, it was those words that solidified in him that the kid knew what he was doing. The role of Spider-Man had been pushed on him young, too young in Eddie’s mind. But what he said was steady and resolute. Eddie could hear that Peter wouldn’t want to take them on, especially now that they’d sat down and talked together, but he managed to stand by his morals all the same and his eyes were unflinching as he stared back at Eddie.

_I like him._

_Really?_ Eddie asked.

_Stronger than I first thought. Would you call him admirable?_

_Hmm, I guess. Glad to see you’re finding other ways to describe people besides delicious._

_Not others. Just this one._

_Of course,_ Eddie said, a snort escaping his lips. He realized how that might seem though as an offended look came across Peter’s face. “Sorry I was-I was talking to him. Not…listen, we’ll only be here for three days. I have my sister’s wedding to go to and then it’s back to San Francisco. We’ll be out of your hair and you won’t have to worry about us again. Not a single person will get eaten in New York.”

“Right.” Peter turned silent for a moment, of course thinking of the implication that other people might be eaten elsewhere. However, he clearly knew he wasn’t going to change the symbiote’s mind and he did understand that both of them could die if they didn’t get enough food. Not only that but he was also clearly thinking what kind of damage a fight could cause if he tried and argued here. “Just…behave yourself here. Understood?”

“I got it Pete.”

“You ever think there could be something better than people for him to eat?”

“Well chocolate is looking promising.” Peter cocked an eyebrow. “Believe it or not, I’m actually not joking.”

“Right.”

Eddie just sighed, trying to think of what else to say when he suddenly felt his phone buzz. He checked the text and said, “Listen, I got to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. I doubt we’ll see you again before we leave Pete.”

“Yeah um…congrats to your sister.”

“Thanks. And stay safe out there,” Eddie said as he stood up. “New York’s lucky to have you.”

Peter looked a little surprised at the compliment before he finally showed a smile again. And then Eddie was leaving back to the hotel they’d checked into earlier. Time to put on his monkey suit and deal with his family.

 _Remember not to cause any problems_ , Eddie thought as he walked down the street and looked for a good place to hail a cab.

_Only if you eat the good food while there._

_Well of course._

As they continued, they didn’t see the smaller figure swinging out behind them, landing gracefully on the ledge of a building. Peter sat there, watching as Eddie finally hailed down a cab.

Actually talking to Eddie had eased Peter’s mind a bit. He did still seem like a good man though his morals were a little skewed. Just the idea that they could eat someone, even the worst person on the planet, it didn’t sit right with Peter. But getting them locked up would most certainly be torture for them, being poked and prodded and possibly starved due to their large appetite, and that didn’t even include the possible damage and casualties that could occur if Peter started a fight with them.

Then there was the fact that Peter had to acknowledge he wasn’t the norm. There were plenty of other powered people out there that had killed, good ones too. Mr. Stark had even killed others in self defense. Eighty-five percent of Venom’s stories had been just that. Self-defense. A them or me kind of scenario.

Peter knew he’d been lucky that he hadn’t been put in that position yet, where there was no other out without someone’s death on his hands.

Ultimately, it all made for a very difficult, circular question. For now all Peter could do was make sure they didn’t eat anyone while in New York. He’d keep his ears open for the next few days to make sure nothing major did happen before Eddie Brock and the symbiote were meant to leave town.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, a massive thank you again! It's so wonderful to know how much people are liking this fic so far! Again, the story won't be too long. I threw out the number seven for the story as I think I might have seven chapters, could be a little less or a little more but I like having an estimate in mind while I write.
> 
> Thank you again and I hope you enjoy!

Getting dressed had taken longer than Eddie had liked. He didn’t wear proper suits very often and the symbiote really didn’t like the restrictive feeling Eddie felt or the cut of the fabric.

_We won’t be there long. Maybe a little over an hour. Probably less. Rehearsal dinners are relatively short._

_Promise?_

_Don’t worry. We’ll be back in the hotel room in no time_ , Eddie replied back as he finally left and took a cab to the venue. He’d been texting his sister back and forth over the drive. It was nice getting a little bit into the swing of family. Eddie was also just clearer headed and he had a feeling that Mary was too.

The main issues with their arguing had been Eddie hated their father and Mary had been daddy’s little girl. The fighting had kept going until one day it escalated to the breaking point. Eddie had been disowned and Eddie and Mary had stopped talking for the most part. It had been a few years since they’d had a full conversation and it honestly felt nice. Eddie got a feeling that with them both older, Mary had begun to understand and see Eddie’s side a lot clearer and him vice versa. He now understood that though a dick to him, their father had been a good dad to Mary. It wasn’t right but Eddie was done fighting about it now.

Besides, Mary had been engaged for a long time. It was honestly a miracle that her and what’s his face were finally getting married at all. It was definitely worth putting aside their arguments to see her walk down the aisle.

They left pretty early, Eddie easily remembering how New York traffic could come to a standstill at any moment, and that was before superheroes became a thing. Thankfully Eddie had planned it perfectly and they were right on time. It was basically a room full of people that he vaguely knew or didn’t know at all. When he spotted his dad and sister, he made a beeline for them.

It seemed in the past years their dad had worsened. He sat in a wheelchair with his oxygen tank behind him, looking far weaker than Eddie had ever seen him. Eddie could honestly say seeing his father like this didn’t make much of a difference for him. It was his father’s own fault considering how much crap he’d always smoked despite the doctors’ warnings. Besides, Eddie was pretty sure his weakening lungs and heart hadn’t made him any nicer of a person.

That point was proven within seconds as his father said, “I’m surprised they let you back into the city after the shit you pulled at the Dailey Globe.”

Eddie didn’t try to hide the sigh but Mary stepped in before more could be said.

“Not today. Please? And most definitely not tomorrow, both of you.”

His father just grumbled a few unintelligible things as Venom said, _He may taste bad but I’ll eat him to help you._

 _I told you, that wouldn’t be helping_ , Eddie replied though the sentiment was appreciated as he rolled his eyes.

His father caught that and clearly thought it was directed at him and Mary. “Just because you’re a failure and your own wedding fell through too doesn’t mean you get to put down your sister’s—”

“I’m not! I know this is a damn miracle to you but not everything revolves around you! I was…thinking…about…work,” Eddie got out as a stilted excuse before jumping into, “And for the record, I’m in a relationship again so you can fuck off!”

Oh this was not going how Eddie had wanted it.

_Let’s eat everyone and forget we ever came._

_You know, I’m really close to saying yes_ , Eddie internally groaned as he immediately distanced himself from the situation. He walked around until he managed to snag a drink and then made himself comfortable in a corner. He was perfectly ready to just talk to the symbiote all night. Except, as he finally leaned against the wall, he realized his sister had been following him the entire time.

He watched as she opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it again. She didn’t seem to know the right words so Eddie started.

“You told him about Anne?” Eddie cursed inwardly at how fucking mopey that had sounded coming out.

“Not intentionally. He saw the texts from my phone. And uh…I was sorry to hear about that. I know I only met her once before…well you know. But she seemed good for you,” Mary quieted for a second before perking up. “But you’ve found someone else?”

“You mean you didn’t come over here to chew me out on my outburst?” asked Eddie. It was a relevant question and an easy way to deflect from what he’d said before.

“I mean, I would have liked it if you hadn’t yelled but dad was out of line,” Mary admitted. “You have to understand, he’s pretty upset.”

“About what? You’ve always been his crown and joy and now you’re getting married. Does he secretly hate the guy?”

“No, Ramesh is great! Dad does like him, well now at least but…no I just…I was going to ask if you could walk me down the aisle.”

Eddie blinked in shock. “Y-you couldn’t have asked, oh I don’t know, over a week ago when you asked me to come at all?”

“Sorry, it just didn’t seem like-you don’t have to. Dad can’t and if you wouldn’t then Ramesh’s dad said-but no. It’s a stupid-no you don’t—”

“Hang on! I didn’t say no!”

“Oh?”

“I-I…”

_Remember when you apologized to Anne finally?_

Venom was probably right. If this conversation had been going down before Eddie had become bonded to Venom, he might have been too stubborn to admit fault first. But now he had a better understanding of what was more important.

“I’m sorry.” Mary looked at him in surprise. “I’m sorry for the fights and the yelling and that I didn’t bother to think of your side. I’m sorry I let dad get in between us and that it took this long for us to properly talk at all and I know it was mostly my fault. That I was too damn stubborn.”

Mary continued to stare at him with her completely shocked expression before she suddenly punched him in the side.

“Hey!”

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

_You know, this would be the perfect time for me to say surprise._

_Absolutely not_ , Eddie replied, laughing both at his sister and the image Venom had conjured up in his mind. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Mary shook her head and then quickly hugged him. It was the first time they’d hugged in…god. Far too long. Eddie’s grip tightened just a little more. With his sister’s own height and her heels on, it was easy to bury his face in the crook of her neck and her with his.

“It wasn’t just your fault. Being stubborn is in our genes. I’m sorry too,” Mary mumbled. She squeezed, both of them slightly pulling back as she added, “God, you’re a bastard you know that?”

“What’d I do now?”

She wiped out her eyes. “Ruined my makeup.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “You look just fine to me.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

Mary sniffed a little before smiling again. “I’m happy your back Eddie.”

“It’s only for a few days—”

“I know. I know, you said it enough times in the texts,” chuckled Mary. “I’m just…I’m happy you’re here at all. So will you—”

“Absolutely.”

She smiled before wrapping an arm around Eddie’s. “So, we have a fair amount of catching up to do. Tell me about this new relationship.”

Eddie groaned.

“Don’t think I forgot! Though you did do a very good job distracting me with that apology.”

“I wasn’t apologizing just to distract you.”

“I know,” she laughed. “So, tell me.”

“There’s nothing to—”

 _There’s loads to tell,_ Venom rumbled. Eddie could feel his smile on him.

“That is-I didn’t mean—”

_You said it was a relationship first._

“Well it is a relationship but not that—”

_Oh really?_

“He’s just—”

“A he? Really Eddie?”

Venom’s constant nagging had led Eddie down a rambling path where he’d been simultaneously trying to talk to him and his sister and now he wasn’t really sure how he was going to get out of it. He could feel Venom laughing as his face turned pink. He switched it so he was instead looping his arm around his sister’s and said, “Let’s go meet the man who’s going to marry my most beautiful sister.”

“Most? You realize I’m your only sister right?”

“And that makes you twice as beautiful.”

“Come on! You can’t drop a bombshell like that! Tell me about him.”

“Yes, him. I want to know all about your husband to be,” Eddied replied back, switching it up on her.

“You’re deflecting the question Eddie,” she dryly said with a pointed look.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eddie replied as he dragged her back into the small gathering of people.

Ultimately, besides that first outburst with his dad, the rehearsal went pretty much fine. Venom didn’t do anything to really cause attention to be turned to them and Eddie kept from eating so much that people stared, promising Venom they’d grab some snacks on the way back to the hotel. It was a good thing Eddie didn’t have to worry about medical expenses now because the symbiote really had them eating through food at a ridiculous rate.

Eddie met with Ramesh. Though a bit awkward at first, Eddie decided he liked him and he didn’t really go through any of that typical “if you hurt her I’ll kill you” crap. Mainly because Eddie had never thought that kind of attitude was very productive but also because he knew Mary could take care of herself easily.

Mary also mercifully didn’t bring up the relationship thing again but she did occasionally side eye Eddie with clear implications she’d try and talk to him later. Oh he’d really dug his grave there and it didn’t help that Venom clearly thought it was fucking hilarious.

* * *

Peter had done a bit more checking up on the city, just looking for the normal break in or mugging to stop, before he rushed home for dinner. Since nothing came up on the way, he didn’t need to call Aunt May and he managed to arrive on time.

He got changed on the roof and came down the stairs to their floor. He unlocked the door and said, “Hey May, I’m—”

“Peter! Oh thank god!”

Peter blinked in confusion as he felt his aunt grab hold of him and hug him as tightly as possible.

“Wh—”

“I didn’t want to call you if it was nothing. And you didn’t call me because I’m sure you didn’t need to. And you are growing into a young man and I get that you can take care of yourself but I did worry and—”

“May, what is it?”

“I heard about the creature you fought near the East Village. After the bank robbery with that man you’ve caught a few times? Herman Schultz?”

“Oh! Well there wasn’t any reason to worry I just—”

“What was it?”

“Um…a uh…friend?”

May blinked in confusion. “Wait. Really?”

“I mean maybe? He’s not going to be around for long. He’s leaving town after his sister’s wedding.”

“You mean it’s a person?”

“More or less,” Peter admitted.

“But you’re alright?”

“Yeah! Yeah I’m fine we uh…we had a little argument on what to do with Herman but it turned out fine.”

“Who is he?”

“I…” Peter paused. It was just his aunt and he had agreed to tell her everything. It wasn’t even that he didn’t trust her. He fully did! But just…

Thankfully he didn’t have to say anything more as May picked up the pieces. “You promised to keep it a secret.”

“Not in so many words,” snorted Peter. “But it’s just…a sensitive situation that I doubt he wants a lot of people to know about. I was surprised he was so honest with me, though I think it was partially because he wanted to make sure I didn’t see him as a threat.”

That worried look on May’s face came back. “And is he?”

“N-no! I mean not here. Or not-I don’t…he’s a good guy. I think,” Peter finally fell on. “It’s just not as black and white as I’m used to.”

“The world rarely is,” May warmly replied as she hugged Peter again and kissed his forehead. “I’m glad to know you’re ok.”

Peter smiled and then took a quick sniff. “Already started on dinner?”

“Yes, though you have a phone call with Ned to take care of first.”

“Oh god,” groaned Peter though he was still smiling all the same. He could just imagine everything that Ned was going to want to ask him.

Unsurprisingly, the phone call started with, “Holy shit! So there was this black monster in the city-well obviously you know. You fought it!”

“I didn’t—”

“And it had teeth and this wicked tongue but you know that because you fought it!”

Peter rolled his eyes. “I didn’t—”

“And then there was—”

They went in circles like that for a bit before Ned calmed down enough for Peter to tell his side of the story. It was far less exciting and during it Ned kept asking, “So you didn’t fight it?”

Eventually Peter managed to calm Ned down and he finished without another interruption only for Ned to finally say, “Well that wasn’t as exciting as I thought it was.”

“Spider-Man has boring days too.”

He could easily imagine Ned’s eyes rolling at that.

“Only you could somehow make this alien thing with teeth boring,” whined Ned. “Could I meet him?”

“He’s busy last time I checked but I’ll make sure we compare schedules next time,” Peter sarcastically mumbled.

“Wait, do you have like a Spider-schedule—”

“No!” laughed Peter. “Listen, I’ll talk to you later. There’s food to eat.”

“Ok but what about—”

“Bye Ned. Bye Ned. Bye Ned!” Peter repeated called at the phone before mercifully putting it down and shutting Ned off even though the smile was still firmly on his face.

He suddenly thought about how Ned would react to Eddie and the symbiote and couldn’t help but laugh at how that would probably turn out. Ned had a bigger knowledge of horror movies. Peter was sure he’d come up with some crazy funny nicknames for the two. He wondered if the symbiote would be more amused or annoyed? From little Peter had heard from him, mostly via Eddie, the creature had a weird since of humor.

With that in mind, Peter quickly rushed back into the kitchen to help with dinner. He listened to his aunt talk about her day and Peter talked a bit more about Eddie but mostly about some of the other small crimes he’d stopped along with just some normal school work he was doing.

After dinner, Peter went straight to finishing up his homework before the history aspect started to bore him just a bit. He stared at the textbook a little while longer before he groaned with boredom. He rolled off his bed and grabbed his phone off his desk. He sat back down and started to look up what he could about the Life Foundation and Carlton Drake.

He’d vaguely heard the names here and there though they were mostly situated on the West Coast. There’d been rumors about Mr. Stark going into business with Drake a few years ago which had caught the world by storm considering how rich the two men were but the deal had fallen through if it had been real at all.

On the surface, what Peter found was basically what Eddie had told him only any mention of symbiotes was missing. Still curious though, Peter dug a little deeper.

Peter rolled over onto his stomach, scrolling through the articles before he decided he needed a bigger keyboard than what his phone had. He grabbed his laptop and got situated again, going into some more redacted files with some light hacking.

At first he was reading every bit of information that he could get only to slowly start pulling back. Peter blinked, wiping at his eyes unexpectedly.

Shit, and he’d laughed! He hadn’t-well how could he have known? Eddie had purposefully kept it from him, but Peter didn’t think it was because Eddie had been babying him. He’d just been decent, leaving out the gory details that didn’t change anything, just made your stomach turn. And Peter’s stomach was turning now.

Peter sat back as his image of Venom slowly started to change again. In some ways, he was shocked there hadn’t been more death, the symbiote’s hunger possibly feeding off Eddie’s rage over what he’d seen. And perhaps in someone else’s hands that’s what would have happened. But Eddie seemed to hold back Venom’s hunger and redirect it for the most part. Then further readings of the sightings of Venom, though of course no one knew to call him that, seemed to show they had a sense to do right by others, especially the disenfranchised.

They seemed to be trying, which was surprising considering what they’d come from, but in a good way. Though he’d still been wary of Venom after their meeting, most of that feeling was gone now. He was more hopeful than anything.

It was like when he’d simply thought of Eddie Brock as a possible partner. But of course, they were going back to San Francisco soon. So that wasn’t really an option, but maybe in the future…

Peter shook his head. Better not to think on what-ifs now but he doubted his mind was going to let him focus on homework. Instead, he decided to do a little more superhero fun, looking over the specs he’d taken from Herman’s new tech before going to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the next chapter is up! Woo! Had a lot of fun with this one. Also I wanted to do some reference to how in the comics Eddie and the symbiote got "married" in a church so this was extra fun to combine with this story. A massive thank you to everyone reading this again! It's so damn awesome reading the comments and seeing the kudos it serioualy makes my day! Thank you!

The next day Eddie got up early to make sure he’d be ready in time for the wedding. He still hated putting on the suit but at least now he’d gotten over the awkwardness of that first talk with his sister. Now he knew that he was actually welcomed and that there was a chance at really reconnecting with his sister again. And this was the actual day, not just the damn rehearsal dinner. He was more excited and definitely more willing to deal with the damn dressing up for the actual wedding.

Once there, a few nasty looks were still thrown between Eddie and his father, but the two managed to be civil and there was only a little bit of a fuss when it came time to walk Mary down the aisle. Even they’d agreed on it yesterday, their father still grumbled about it as someone else wheeled him out to his spot in the Church.

Eddie stuck behind and raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you don’t look nervous.”

“Ramesh and I have been together for well over six years. At this point, this is just a really expensive date for us.”

“I hope Ramesh feels the same about that.”

“He’s the one who first said it.”

Eddie laughed, looping his arm around his sister’s. They’d been through a bunch of ups and downs, the usual “I hate you” one moment and then “I love you” the next with varying degrees as siblings did. But right now, Eddie really hoped they kept this working as he’d possibly never been happier for his sister.

Eddie also noticed the symbiote’s fascination all throughout it, watching and studying all that he could. Eddie was used to the snide or ridiculous comments. He was used to hearing Venom laugh at humanity, both fairly and unfairly. But every once in a while he could feel what was perhaps a bit more genuine. Like when he’d admitted that it was Eddie who’d changed his mind about humanity.

Venom could feel that Eddie was proud for his sister, he could feel the family connection and the love. Maybe Eddie was imagining it but he was pretty sure the symbiote was enjoying himself, moving around him more warmly than usual.

Once they were sitting through the vows, Venom said, _This would be the perfect time for an attack. Then we can jump out and rescue everyone._

Eddie rolled his eyes. _Not everything is like_ Wreck It Ralph _. Actually a lot isn’t. Besides, that means Ramesh is the guy who gets eaten and I can’t let that happen to my sister._

_We’ll eat the thing that tries to eat Ramesh._

_If it happens, yes. But that’s very unlikely._

_But if it happens-_

_We’ll eat it!_ Eddie said, internally laughing at the excitement Venom seemed to feel at the idea.

Suddenly, Eddie felt the eyes on him and he glanced at his father two chairs down. He was glaring at him, looking at him like he was fucking crazy. To be fair when talking to Venom internally, Eddie often moved his head and raised his eyebrows like he was talking to himself, the motions still coming instinctively. However, whereas a caring old father would show concern at thinking his son was talking to himself, his dad just continued to look at him like he was insane and clearly wanted to roll on over and slap him until he stopped it.

Venom harshly forced Eddie’s head back to his sister in an unnaturally fast motion.

_Ow!_

_That did not hurt._

_…ok you’re right._

_Focus. It is your sister’s wedding and I believe I understand humans try not to recreate this ceremony if possible._

Eddie’s lips quirked upwards at the phrasing. _Basically_.

He mostly listened to the priest’s, his sister’s, and Ramesh’s words, though Venom still made a few comments and even asked a question here or there. But the important thing was that his father wasn’t going to ruin this moment for any of them.

The wedding was mostly traditional with his sister and Ramesh throwing in their own personal spin on things and then at the reception Eddie got to meet even more of his new in-laws. Considering how long it had been since he’d spent quality time with his own family, it was weird suddenly finding he had over twice as much to deal with.

There wasn’t really a set time for actually eating, only that the cake would come a little later so people moved around the venue at their leisure as music played. Eddie was in the middle talking to his new father-in-law, who he already liked a lot more than his father, when Venom started up.

_Chocolate fountain!_

_Yes I saw_ , Eddie replied, still trying to focus on the conversation in front of him.

_Go to it!_

_In a moment!_

Eddie kept talking and Venom was silent for a little while. But then he was up again, telling Eddie to go to the chocolate fountain with increasing excitement. Of course, Eddie couldn’t just dive for the fountain and shove his head under it, what a photo that would be for the wedding album. But Venom still didn’t stop jabbering on about it despite knowing that.

 _I will strangle you!_ Eddie cried.

_Good luck finding my nonexistent neck._

_I’ll find a way!_

_Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!_

“Alright, I’m going—” Eddie froze, realizing he’d said that out loud. “G-g-going…over there. I just need uh-not great with crowds-go-bye.”

_It’s a good thing we sneak around for your job and don’t go undercover. You are terrible with confrontation._

_It’s your fault!_ Eddie grumbled as he quickly left the confused people and made his way to the table of food. Most everyone had gotten something and formed groups, leaving a small bubble of space. Eddie caught sight of his sister gesturing over and he held up one quick finger showing he’d be there in a second.

He turned around just in time to see a small black trail shoot out and under the chocolate fountain, absorbing a rather large amount.

Eddie didn’t even get time to criticize the symbiote as he looked at a kid who had his mouth wide open and was staring up at them. Eddie vaguely remembered he was like a distant cousin or something on Ramesh’s side. Theo was his name. At least Eddie was pretty sure it was as his mind went into overdrive trying to figure out how to fix this.

“Um-u kid. T-theo. Theo? Right,” Eddie said, stumbling over his words. “Listen we-I need—”

“Are you a superhero?” Theo excitedly whispered with wide eyes.

“Um-I-I mean uh, no-well on the-the good. Days?” God, that came out as a mess of a sentence. Eddie shook his head. “Listen kid, I can’t have anyone know—”

“It’s a secret!” Theo excitedly cried.

A stressed noise came out of Eddie’s thinly pressed lips as he put up his hands. “And a secret needs to stay quiet,” he whispered, really hoping any of the new in-laws weren’t overhearing this. He’d look like a fucking creep if they did!

“I have a new uncle that’s a superhero,” Theo said, eyes shining and bright.

“Yeah-well I guess—”

Suddenly the kid was hugging Eddie around the middle. “I’ll keep it a secret. Promise Uncle Eddie!”

Eddie blinked, a little shocked at the kid’s words just as Venom said, _Pick it up._

_No! No I am not listening to you after the mess you almost just caused!_

_We are its uncle now. I want to pick it up._

_I said—_

Before Eddie could argue more, Venom was forcing them to swoop the kid up in their arms and ultimately set him on their shoulders. Theo laughed, thankfully taking it incredibly well.

Eddie shot Venom an internal glare but said, “And remember, you can’t tell anyone. Not even your friends.”

“I won’t! Mom says trust is very important. I don’t want to break my new uncle’s trust.”

“Good kid,” Eddie replied, finally sighing with some form of relief as he walked over to his sister.

Mary laughed at spotting the kid on his shoulders. “I see you’ve met Theo. How are you doing sweetheart?”

“Great! I like Uncle Eddie!”

“Ah, I’m glad to hear it,” Mary smiled, Ramesh standing by her and looking equally pleased.

The night kept going with cake coming into play and Venom deciding he really _really_ liked it. Eddie wasn’t super into it and he probably shouldn’t have been rewarding the bad behavior from before, but all Venom really had to do was make that feeling, that feeling Eddie could recognize as a smile and it was impossible not to cave.

Eddie had his mouth full of wedding cake when his sister seemingly came out of nowhere and started to drag him away. People had been dancing more now rather than just talking in their little groups but people had moved back from the dance floor again.

“Wha?”

Mary stopped to roll her eyes and grab Eddie’s plate. “Put that down and swallow like a grown adult.”

Eddie choked and Mary hit him in the shoulder.

“I didn’t mean it like that! Swallow, hurry up. Chop, chop!”

Eddie finally did, wiping at his mouth just as Mary grabbed his hand again. “What are you doing?”

“Well normally it’s a father daughter dance but…”

“You know I have two left feet,” Eddie groaned, understanding now why the dance floor had become clear again.

“Come on. Indulge your older sister,” Mary laughed, pulling him onto the dance floor just as the music started.

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.”

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh as he immediately recognized the song. A song that Mary had tortured him with on repeat, wearing down that side of the tape so much she’d bought another one.

“You know,” Eddie said, as _Kids in America_ started to play, “your love of 80s music should have died in the 80s like a reasonable person.”

 “Well I could have chosen some song about brothers and sisters or just siblings in general,” Mary said as they swayed to the start of it, “but I figured this would be more special.”

“You mean traumatizing for me. Every damn morning you woke me up with this,” laughed Eddie.

 _You really can’t dance_ , Venom spoke up.

_Thanks for stating the obvious._

_Let me._

_What—_

And suddenly Venom changed their position of their hands so they were holding Eddie’s sister a bit more naturally. She looked at him, clearly asking where this was going before Eddie, technically Venom, pulled her across the dance floor. Thankfully Mary was a bit more of a natural and she started to pick up their steps and matched the pace, even in the moments where they let go of her.

Eddie didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed, just along for the ride as much as his sister was. The second chorus came around and they spun Mary around and then up in the air, probably just a little longer than some might have thought humanely possible, before putting her back on her feet just as the third verse happened.

They continued to dance up to the end of the song, Eddie tipping his sister over just as the song was cut to end on one loud, final note.

Clapping and cheers occurred right away as Mary grinned up at him.

“Where the hell did you learn that?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

“What?”

Eddie could hear Venom laughing as he stuttered out, “I-um-mean-never mind.”

Mary laughed as Eddie pulled her back up. “Over forty and you’re still a dork of my baby brother.”

“Ha ha,” Eddie sarcastically said as Ramesh came over for the new couple’s dance.

“Sweetheart,” Ramesh said with an amused smile, “maybe we should skip ours because it’s just going to be dreadfully boring after you and your brother’s.”

“It’ll be fine,” Mary said with a light kiss as she wrapped her arms around Ramesh and Eddie quickly moved back to the shadows.

“Where did you learn to dance like that?” Eddie asked. He didn’t bother talking inside his head since they were a little bit away from everyone now and all eyes were focused on his sister and Ramesh anyways.

_The internet._

“We really need to talk about your media consumption.”

_You had fun._

Eddie let out a grumble.

_You did._

“Ok, alright I did,” Eddie said with a roll of his eyes. “Your dance moves are very nice.”

 _Thank you_ , Venom rumbled.

Eddie chuckled to himself, the night finally starting to slow down after Mary and Ramesh finished their dance. Eddie stayed to the side, mostly watching everyone and eating what was left over. People finally started to leave and Eddie was about to do the same when Mary came over.

“Heading back to the hotel?”

“Yeah, I’m utterly beat,” yawned Eddie. “And I don’t think I actually said it but…congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“Any big plans for the honeymoon?”

“Maybe if I’d gotten married at age twenty,” chuckled Mary. “But no. We do have a trip planned once it gets closer to summer, but for right now we just want to spend time with family. Speaking of…”

“I have work.”

“I know! I’m just asking for one more day. Maybe two if you can push it. Please?”

“Urgh…fine. I can’t promise anything but I’ll call work tomorrow. At the very least we can do breakfast or lunch if I do have to leave.”

“Ok, I can deal with that,” smiled Mary, quickly giving Eddie a kiss on the cheek. “Text me when you get up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Eddie promised he would and finally left the venue. He hailed a cab and went straight to the hotel. The little snack shop of overly priced food was still open so Eddie grabbed a few things before heading up to his hotel room. Finally he got to get out the damn suit, going for a shower and changing into a t-shirt and boxers before hopping onto the bed with the pile of snacks and the TV playing.

For a moment, they just enjoyed themselves, arguing as they flipped through the channels on what they wanted to watch. Venom occasionally stole snacks out of Eddie’s hands while they did so. However, the symbiote’s floating face eventually moved to block Eddie’s view.

“What?”

“I like it here.”

“You mean New York? Yeah, it sure as hell’s got character.”

“We could stay.”

“We have a job back in San Francisco. And just because I fixed my reputation there doesn’t mean it’s magically fixed here.”

“I would like to stay.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Venom cocked his head. Eddie tried to look away but he just fully migrated over Eddie’s chest, making it so that he really could only look at the symbiote. “You are keeping something from me.”

“It’s not—”

“What is it?”

“It’s stupid.”

“Not surprising. You are very stupid sometimes.”

Eddie rolled his eyes at that.

 _But it is we, not I. Should we not be truthful with each other?_ Venom asked in his head. “I have been truthful with you.”

Eddie hesitated, honestly embarrassed by what he was about to say. With the dinner rehearsal and then the wedding, it had been easy for Eddie to push back his thoughts and to ignore them, also making it easier to hide them from Venom. They’d cropped up ever since interacting with Peter and…god it was too embarrassing and Eddie wasn’t quite sure what it meant. Instead of vocally or internally saying it, he just let his walls down.

Venom moved around him, taking in the new information before he let out a low rumble. “Jealous.”

“Don’t call it that.”

“You felt it though. The Spider-Man is physically superior to you.”

Eddie closed his eyes. “No shit.”

“You are jealous. Very jealous.”

“Ok! Will you just-seriously just stop? Saying I’m jealous of a fucking seventeen year old is creepy as shit.”

“But you are. Enough that it’s been weighing on your mind.” Venom turned silent, clearly waiting for Eddie to respond. When Eddie didn’t immediately do so, Venom said, “I can wait all night.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “It’s just…I’m not special. I knew that before but…and I have no right to force you to stay with me—”

“You are not forcing me.”

“Not now. But I mean…later. If you did find a better host-not that I’d allow you to combine with Peter. He’s a damn kid, alright? But just…when something better comes around…”

“You misunderstand.”

“How so?”

“The child is physically a better host. But we have gone beyond that. We have put work into it.” Venom paused, thinking it over. _Marriage is a bond between members of your own species_.

“Well I wouldn’t call it—”

_And though it can be done again, it is preferable to get it right the first time. Is it not?_

_Well yeah—_

_And the more work put into it, the more likely the marriage will last_. “I do not want to start back at square one.”

“You don’t?” Eddie asked, just a little surprised.

“No.” _There is nothing to fear from another possible host. Unless you piss me off too much_.

Eddie snorted as he looked down. “Ok, I think I can keep from doing that.”

He slowly looked back up as the symbiote wrapped tendrils around Eddie’s neck, bringing his face closer. _I called you mine. I meant it._

Eddie blushed. This was the part of their relationship that they’d probably talked about the least though it didn’t mean they hadn’t…well done…certain things. Because god damn it, sometimes he just wanted that kind of night in and Venom was curious about everything so just…

Well he still wasn’t ready to vocally talk about it but it certainly didn’t mean he was going to tell the symbiote off.

_You don’t have to worry. I do not take our marriage lightly._

Eddie choked on the tongue. _How about we just stick with the word relationship for now?_

_Then we will continue to work on our relationship. For a stronger marriage in the future._

_Y-yeah ok. That._

The tendrils wrapped farther around Eddie as Venom let out a low, rumbling noise. _Stop thinking,_ he commanded.

And Eddie did just that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look at that, I added another chapter! Like I said before, the chapter numbers are arbitrary but max there will probably be like ten chapters. I would love to just continue this forever but I know after fall break I won't be able to devote as much time as I would like to this and I don't want to leave everyone hanging for a ridiculous amount of time.
> 
> With that said, a massive thank you again for all the beautiful comments and kudos! It means the world! Now, back to some more Peter and Eddie interactions. I hope you enjoy!

Eddie had done some talking with his boss and had thankfully gotten some extra days off. He’d called Mary immediately afterwards to make plans and so he could get to know the in-laws a bit better. It was fun and surprisingly normal considering he had an alien in his head making inappropriate comments half the time.

It turned out staying those extra days led to some pretty unexpected events. By pure chance they managed to run into Peter again. They were just walking down the street when a bolt of electricity shot through the air, sending the kid hurling across the sky and into the side of a building.

Eddie jolted a bit as he watched a figure fly towards Peter, the kid quickly rolling out of the way.

_Let’s help._

_I think it’s less you want to help and more you want to have some fun,_ Eddie dryly thought.

_True. Let’s go._

Eddie rolled his eyes and as everyone else was watching the fight, Eddie and the symbiote shot up a building, transforming midway. They landed on the ledge as Peter flipped upwards and stuck to the wall, avoiding another attempt at a punch.

“Listen, I usually only fight one super villain a week and I’ve already filled my quota. Think we can reschedule?”

“Do you ever shut up?!” the flying guy yelled as Peter dodged under him and landed on the ledge next to Venom.

“Not really. Oh, hey guys!” Peter said, his mechanical eyes going a little wider as he looked at them. “I thought you’d already left.”

“We asked for extra vacation days,” Venom said in their deep, rumbling voice.

“Gotcha. How was the wedding—”

“Enough of this!” Electricity shot forward, causing them both to jump away and separate. “One of you?! Two of you?! Doesn’t matter to me. Either way it sounds like a good time!”

Venom and Peter dodged the strikes. Peter tried to web up the guy but the strength of the electricity was too much for the webbing and it broke apart. Venom shot out a tendril but the guy blocked it with a field of electricity that had them growling in irritation.

“What’s your plan?”

Peter looked over in surprise. “Me?”

“Your turf. Call the shots Spider,” they replied.

“Oh! In that case, getting this whole thing away from civilians is priority.”

“Up it is,” they said even as Eddie mentally muttered, _Why is it always up? Why not down? Like in a cave?_

 _Pussy_ , Venom cackled as they attacked again.

This time they worked more in sync, Peter distracting the man first so that Venom could fling him farther into the air, carrying them both onto a higher roof and away from the people below.

“So you got a cool costume and all but I’m still trying to figure out where all that electricity is coming from,” Peter commented.

“Ha! Like a machine could match me. I’m more than that! I am electricity itself! I am Electro!”

“And he gave himself a name,” sighed Peter. “It’s never good when they give themselves a name.”

Eddie and Venom rolled their eyes before starting up the collective attack again. The ability to sense each other seemed to help improve the coordination. Rarely did a word have to be spoken before Venom was moving to support one of Spider-Man’s moves or Spider-Man was distracting Electro to give Venom an opening.

They were tiring him out as they occasionally moved from rooftop to rooftop, mostly keeping themselves higher rather than lower and trying to avoid any rooftop gardens or veranda type areas. Venom lashed out with claws and tentacles whenever Peter managed to give them an opening from the electricity, usually with his taunts or webbing and devices.

Electro became more and more frustrated, his own attacks and aimed blasts becoming a little more erratic and less powerful. Venom’s tongue whipped out in anticipation as Peter forced Electro’s attention elsewhere again.

This time Venom launched itself forward ready to pin the man to the ground and incapacitate him. Going by the pattern they’d formed, it should have worked. However, Electro pulled out a new trick as right before Venom latched onto him, Electro let out a singular burst from all sides. It was violent and hot and Venom roared in pain as they fell back from the force.

Electro’s own skin was burning, like he was now using up his physical body in order to force this final act. As the electricity crackled, his body was becoming pure fuel. Grabbing Peter by his wrists, Electro crushed the web shooters as Peter cried out. Venom tried to go forward but was hindered as Electro let out another blast, Venom howling in pain as the symbiote moved erratically.

“Goodbye little Spider!”

Peter was thrown off the building as Venom pushed himself up again. Their mind worked quickly. That final blast had been Electro’s last line of defense. They could tell anything more was going to kill him by the smell of cooked flesh wafting off him. They could easily catch him and take him down now. Except…

_We save the kid first!_

Eddie pushed the thought forward but Venom chose to agree with it. Winning meant less when innocents were harmed or killed and Electro had just destroyed Peter’s web shooters. Was it possible Spider-Man had another trick up his sleeve and would be able to stop his fall? Possibly, but stopping Electro was not worth the possible death of a kid.

So as Electro flew off in one direction, the symbiote passed on the plan to Eddie and Eddie inwardly cursed. _Oh I’m going to fucking hate this!_

Venom charged to the ledge, launching themselves down but just doing that wouldn’t mean they’d reach Peter in time. The solution? Probably one of the most terrifying things Eddie had ever done considering that he was about to be without Venom and there was a very small chance he was going to become one with the pavement.

The symbiote willingly detached itself from Eddie and used its own momentum to propel him down faster. Eddie focused on Peter’s falling form because if he looked to the fast approaching ground, there was a large chance he was going to pass out.

As Eddie grabbed Peter’s arm and pulled the kid towards him, the symbiote turned as thin as pencil lead, zipping down faster and wrapping around Eddie and Peter as Eddie twisted them around in the air, shielding Peter with his body—

A car swerved as the rest skidded to a stop. People screamed and jumped out of the way as the three of them crashed into the street with a loud, shaking sound.

* * *

The moment Peter had been flung off the roof, he’d tried to deploy the spider-drone. It wouldn’t have been able to support his weight completely but it could have slowed the descent. However, the electrical blast had short circuited everything. Even the moving parts of the eyes on his mask weren’t functioning right as he just barely focused on Venom launching themselves towards him. Understanding passed through Peter’s mind and he quickly focused on making this as easy as possible for Eddie. He grabbed the man’s hand, not fighting as him as Eddie chose to twist them in the air. The symbiote covered them both right before they hit the ground.

Peter rolled over, shaking his head to clear it. Most of the impact had been taken by Venom so he wasn’t hurting in any way. “Anyone hurt?” Peter asked, looking around at the civilians and the stopped cars. No one said yes or was crying out in pain and no accident had happened that might have caused an immediate death. He turned around. “Man, that was some quick-Venom?”

He watched as the black ooze moved over Eddie. It was starting to disappear into him, revealing the human beneath. Shit and people were starting to get closer. He couldn’t let fifty or so people just snap his photo!

Peter picked him up, the symbiote moving with him and still sluggishly disappearing beneath the skin. Peter instinctively held one of his wrists out-damn the web shooters! Well this was going to be awkward as hell. He ran to a building and quickly ran up the wall with Eddie slung over his shoulder. Carrying him was easy-he’d just barely held a massive metal boat together after all-but it was still an awkward hold. And then his mask was still malfunctioning and Karen wasn’t going to be able to help either.

He looked around, trying to figure out the best path to his apartment where he could jump across the rooftops the entire way. He didn’t know where Eddie was staying or if there was someone Eddie trusted to be taken to in a situation like this. And no way was Peter going to take him to a hospital. It seemed like home was the only option. He would have called May ahead of time but everything was fried.

All he could do was find the route and then quickly jump and run along the rooftops, taking off his mask about half way through when it became too much. At the right rooftop, Peter slowed and carefully opened the roof’s door. He crept down the stairs, freezing when he heard someone below but thankfully they didn’t actually pass anyone.

When he got to his floor, Peter crept through the hall and was almost to his door when he heard another one open and—

“Peter, is that you?”

He froze. “Yes Mrs. Wilson,” he slowly said, watching as his elderly neighbor shuffled towards him. He was barely breathing as she tapped the suit.

“How cute. You’re dressed up as Spider-Man. Are you going to a party?”

“Uh-yeah-yes Mrs. Wilson.”

“Oh how nice. Well I hope you have a good time,” she smiled.

As she walked by, Peter could almost collapse in relief except—

“Hang on for just a moment Peter.”

He froze again, slowly turning to her. “Yes?” he asked, his voice painfully cracking.

She stared at him and then to Eddie’s limp form for several painful seconds before she finally said, “You shouldn’t carry such a big book bag. It’s bad for your back.”

“Yes Mrs. Wilson.”

“Good boy. I’ll see you later Peter,” she warmly smiled, turning away again and continuing her shuffle down the hall.

Peter groaned in relief and sprinted to his door, quickly opening it and slamming it behind him. May clearly wasn’t home so he took them to his bedroom, quickly dropping them on the bottom bunk.

“Ok, just tell me you’re not dead,” Peter mumbled. He checked for a pulse. “Ok, definitely not dead. Actually your heart is beating faster than a normal human. I wonder if that’s because-you don’t care. Well maybe you care but you’re asleep. Or unconscious.” Peter paused and leaned forward. “S-symbiote? Venom, sir?”

Silence.

“Ok, so same for you. Or maybe you’re ignoring me. I really hope you’re not because this isn’t funny if you are.” Peter waited again but nothing. Damn, he was hoping that would have caused Venom to jump out at him in some way for a jump scare and a laugh.

Alright, so he had an unconscious grown man who had an unconscious alien goo thing inside him passed out on his bed and somehow this wasn’t the weirdest thing Peter had dealt with. He started to list off the things he could do in his head. Which was honestly very little as he scrapped just about every idea that came to mind.

The only immediate actions would be doing something like taking them to the hospital or calling Mr. Stark. However, Peter was hoping this situation wouldn’t call for something that drastic. Maybe they would wake up in a few minutes. Maybe they just needed the rest. Or what if they died because Peter didn’t do anything?

No! No he had to stay positive. There didn’t seem to be any reason for why they should die. He’d just have to wait and…well he could fix his equipment and possibly do a bio scan. That would help him decide what to do.

With that in mind, Peter quickly changed into some normal clothes so he could reboot and fix his suit and the gadgets. He was in the middle of doing just that, a little over an hour passing when Eddie shot upwards unexpectedly and slammed his head into the bottom of the top bunk.

Peter jumped as there had been no sign that Eddie was about to wake up prior to that. He quickly got up from where he’d been sitting cross legged on his chair. Eddie stumbled out of the bed with a painful groan, and Peter quickly put up his hands. “M-maybe you should rest—”

“Food,” Eddie interrupted, his voice a little rough and his eyes quickly blinking everywhere. He grabbed Peter by his shoulders and looked at him with a pointed stare that was really only confusing Peter. Eddie shook his head though. “No, child. Kid. Good kid,” he absently said, ruffling Peter’s hair as he stumbled away.

“Eddie, uh Venom? Are you ok? What happened?” Peter tried to ask but he only got another grumbling, “Hungry,” from them.

“I mean the kitchen is…that way,” Peter murmured, trailing off a bit as he followed them directly to there. As they opened up the fridge and got out a box of waffles, Peter tried to helpfully say, “I’ll cook those for you,” only to watch them eat the frozen brick. “Or not.”

Venom appeared, stealing from Eddie’s hands first and then searching through the freezer and then the fridge on his own.

“We’ll pay you back,” came Eddie’s muffled voice, sounding a bit more normal now.

“You don’t have…” Peter trailed off as he watched the symbiote swallow a whole loaf of bread. “Yeah, that would be great actually.”

“No problem Pete,” mumbled Eddie around the frozen waffle. He pulled a plate over. “What’s this?”

“Oh! Burnt chocolate chip cookies. I forgot to throw them ou-or not,” Peter finished watching them shovel it all down the hatch. “Wow. I wish I was taking notes on this.  Your intake ability is astounding.”

Peter hopped onto the counter. He rested his chin in his hands as he looked over the two of them, this being the first time he really got to see the symbiote moving on its own. Though it was clear he could move a fair bit away from Eddie’s body, as evidenced by Venom shooting out to take something else from the fridge, he ultimately seemed to prefer staying close to his host.

“So you’re not just moving over his skin, right?” Peter asked. “Like, it looks like that but you’re fully inside him.”

Eddie made a face at the wording as Venom moved around, resting up under Eddie’s chin. Though now it really looked like Eddie was resting his head against Venom’s. “I exist throughout him. We support each other though we are also separate. I admittedly need a host on this world, but we can survive without each other. Our inner functions work separately but they support each other, and when we fully work together, we are strongest.”

“And that’s like, when you transform. Right?”

“Yes,” they both said at once.

“Do you do that often? Like talk together? Use we a lot?”

“Sometimes,” Venom rumbled.

“I try not to do it at work though it slips through sometimes,” Eddie added.

“So what exactly happened back there? You were out for a while. Is that normal?”

“No, usually if I sustain life threatening injuries I don’t really feel much and Venom stitches me back up,” Eddie replied as Venom wrapped around his neck again.

“Wait? Self-healing? So is it just the symbiote stitching you up or is the symbiote having a more inner impact on you like boosting your cell regenerative—wait. Life sustaining injuries? What happened this time?” asked Peter.

“I slammed into the pavement from like, one hundred feet up. It’s a good thing I didn’t burst like a watermelon,” Eddie replied.

“But you said you survived like, gun fire and an exploding rocket and—”

“We separated in order to catch you,” Venom interrupted. “We did not complete symbiosis before impact. Combining with and fixing a broken host is much more difficult than fixing a host after full symbiosis. It took time.”

“You could have died!?” Peter cried out.

Eddie shrugged. “I kind of did? It’s not like it’s the first time.”

“And you saved me anyways?”

“You’re a kid! I’m not going to let you just die like that!”

“No killing kids,” added Venom. “No letting them die.”

Peter blinked in surprise. “You…and you said you weren’t a hero!”

Eddie took a step back. “I mean—”

“Thanks you,” Peter interrupted. “I don’t think I said that yet. It means a lot you risked your neck out for me, even more now that I understand how much you were risking.”

After some hesitation, they said it at the same time, “You’re welcome.”

“So when are you supposed—” Peter stopped midsentence as his senses alerted him. “Ah shit!”

Eddie and Venom watched in confusion as Peter scrambled towards the door.

He froze again, spinning around to look at Eddie before he finally said, “So my aunt’s walking down the hall right now—”

“Right,” Eddie quickly said, moving like he was ready to jump out a window.

“No! Sh-I mean. I told her about you. Not who you are! But just that you were a friend. That you’d helped me capture Herman,” Peter quickly said. “S-so I mean if you-if you want you could-could stay for dinner?”

Venom didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“Well hang on a second,” stressed Eddie. “We already ate enough of your food and—”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to make excuses,” Peter quickly said. He looked just a little downturned as he said, “I thought, if you still have a few more days in town, it could be really helpful hearing your thoughts on this new guy, Electro, and going over what happened in the fight. And I think my aunt would feel a bit better about meeting you. She doesn’t get to meet many super powered friends of mine-not that I’m trying to convince you! You still don’t—”

“If it means that much to you Pete,” Eddie interrupted, “I guess it would be alright. I certainly don’t feel like trying to sneak out a window or anything like that anyways.”

“Bitch,” Venom said, the symbiote rolling his eyes at his host.

Peter laughed. “Ok, cool! Just-stay over there,” Peter added, gesturing out of the hall door’s line of sight, “And do you mind…at least for now before I warn her…”

“Of course,” rumbled Venom as he absorbed back underneath Eddie’s skin.

“Awesome! Now just-yeah right over there.” Peter rushed back to the door and slipped out of it just as May got there.

“Woah! Peter!” May cried, surprised by his sudden appearance. As he quickly closed the door, her eyes narrowed just a little bit. “I’m assuming you’re not trying to hide a party behind that door like a normal teenager?”

Peter laughed, only sounding a little nervous as he said, “Yeah, not at all. Just um…so do you remember a few days ago when I told you about a guy and his alien other that helped me stop a bank robbery?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so for now I think the next chapter will be the last one but depending on how long it gets, there may be ONE last one. That being said, I'm definitely open to returning to this crossover sometime soon. I've been having a bunch of fun writing it and I definitely have some ideas for other plots to work with.
> 
> I just really won't have the time or the urge to write probably until the next break comes around what with school and working as much as I do. So depending on how it works out, I probably will write a sequel to this that's just full on Eddie/Venom and Peter teaming up or something but for now we're almost at the end of this story and it's been a blast writing it!
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading it and leaving kudos and everything! It seriously means the world to me!

Peter had done a quick run through of the story. He made the whole falling off a building thing seem a little less serious as he didn’t want to worry May too much, but made a point of emphasizing Venom’s help.

“And the symbiote likes to be out. He’s kind of like a giant black pile of goo that rests on Eddie’s shoulders,” Peter finally finished, carefully focusing back on May’s face.

May just looked at him before finally murmuring, “And you asked him to stay for dinner?”

“Yeah, I mean if it’s-if it’s alright?”

May sighed and rubbed underneath her glasses.

“I mean if it’s not then I can—”

“No, no it’s fine Peter. I just…I’m thinking about how having Mr. Stark knock on our door that first time is somehow odder than all this.”

Peter snorted at that and a smile teased its way onto the edge of May’s lips.

“It’s fine that you asked him to stay sweetheart. Especially considering he helped you. And thank you for…warning me. Is the…” she gestured at her neck, “out?”

“Oh! No I asked him to hide. I figured easing you into it would be a bit better. It was really shocking when I first saw him do it too,” Peter quickly said.

“Got it.” May let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes for a second before she nodded. “Alright, well let’s make dinner.”

Peter nodded, opening the door finally and letting May in. He led the way, walking around the corner as he said, “Eddie, Venom? This is my Aunt May. May, this is Eddie and Venom. Or Eddie and the symbiote, or both can be called Venom I guess—”

“Hi,” interrupted Eddie, taking a step forward and saving Peter from rambling too much. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

May was clearly surprised that he was older, close to her age rather than Peter’s but he was being very polite and clearly thought this was as weird as she did which put her at some moderate form of ease. As they briefly shook hands, she replied, “You too-or I suppose…both of you—”

“Hello.”

Just as May jumped at Venom’s head popping up, Eddie grabbed a nearby magazine and started swatting at the symbiote.

“I. Thought. I. Told. You. Not. To. Do. That!” Eddie cried, trying to hit Venom a few times and ultimately spinning around twice as Venom easily moved and transferred himself onto other parts of Eddie’s body. Then suddenly Eddie hit himself in the head with the magazine. At least it seemed like that, only Eddie said, “That was uncalled for,” as he rubbed his head. The symbiote let out a low, rumbling laugh as it moved around Eddie’s neck.

“Nice to meet you. Peter’s Aunt,” Venom continued in his deeper voice.

“Uh, right. You as well…” May slowly said as Peter asked, “Wait so you can fully control his body? Without his permission? Can you like, do the same with him?”

“I wish,” Eddie said, glaring at the symbiote’s face who right then looked very much like a smug cat.

“Hang on, why do you look so familiar?” May suddenly asked.

“I used to work at the Daily Globe.”

“You’re the reporter who caused such a fuss!” May said, snapping her fingers together as she pointed at him. “The Globe had to print a retraction and everything.”

“And I moved to San Francisco because of it,” Eddie said with a small sigh. “In retrospect I moved to quickly on the story and wasn’t really thinking about who could get hurt in the process.”

“But your stupid move was a good one,” Venom said, “or else you wouldn’t have met me.”

“True,” Eddie said, a softer look coming over his face despite how he’d been chasing the alien over his body with a magazine only a few seconds ago.

“Oh, Peter, I see you cleared up some of that food I said we needed to throw out.” May looked in the trash and since there was nothing in there, she added, “And you took out the trash too. Thank you.”

“Uh…” Peter and Eddie looked at each before May saw. Peter finally just fell on, “It was no problem May.”

“Alright, so dinner. Let’s see what we still have…”

At first, Eddie stood a little awkwardly to the side. This was an undoubtedly weird situation, even more so as he wasn’t having to ask Venom to hide or anything. And May was taking it all extremely well, though granted she lived in New York which had seemingly become the weird capital of America in recent years. And she had a nephew with spider like powers so he supposed it made since she wouldn’t be overly freaked out.

It also helped that she rather quickly put him to work and had them working alongside Peter. And when it came to actually sitting down to eat, May hesitantly prepped two plates for them. “I’m assuming you eat twice as much if not more.”

“Uh, yeah,” Eddie admitted. “Thank you,” they both said.

“You’re welcome,” she smiled, having gotten a bit more used to the symbiote fluidly moving around Eddie. As she sat down, she said, “So, who were you fighting?”

“Electro. At least that’s what he’s calling himself,” groaned Peter as he threw his head back.

“Did he just appear on the scene?” asked Eddie just as Venom asked, “Is he new?”

“Yeah. Never seen him before,” Peter said. “When I got Karen booted up again, I asked to see if there was any electrical guys around the country that might have been causing some problems, like maybe he just moved here, but I didn’t find anything.”

“Hmm,” Eddie hummed to himself. He pulled out his phone, flying through some quick searches that were coming to mind. Venom wrapped around him, “Idea?” he rumbled, shifting so he seemed curled up in the crook of Eddie’s neck.

“What are you thinking?” asked Peter.

“Just give me a second,” replied Eddie. He went through a few more articles before he found what he was looking for. He looked up at Peter and said, “I found the guy.”

“W-wait? Just like that?” Peter cried out as Eddie slid his phone over for the kid.

“Maxwell Dillon. He has more hair in that picture but it’s him,” Eddie said.

“But how did you find this so quickly?” asked Peter.

“I am an investigative journalist,” smirked Eddie as Venom rumbled in agreement. “I have to make our living somehow.”

“But how did you do it exactly?”

“Well, first I remembered when you asked him about a possible suit. He gave up that it wasn’t a suit or anything mechanical, that the power was coming from him. You also just told me your suit’s AI did some digging of its own and that this guy hadn’t popped up anywhere else in the US. He also had a New York accent so it made since that he’s from here,” Eddie started to explain.

“He came onto the scene pretty quickly so that leaves two possible options. Either his abilities came from some type of accident or they naturally mutated inside him at some random time recently. If the latter, then I probably wouldn’t have found anything, but I focused on looking for recent accidents involving electricity and possible victims.

“I found this and then looked through any of Dillon’s unprotected social media. Found that he’s ironically been off the grid for the past two months, and that he’s a pretty avid hater of Stark _and_ , if I remember correctly, the fight started near one of Stark Industry’s labs. Right?” Eddie finished.

“Y-yeah!” Peter said, quickly reading up on the article that Eddie had kept pulled up.

“You may be able to look at me and figure out exactly how fast my metabolism works and what kind of chemicals and all that junk are going on in my cells but this is my area of expertise kid,” smirked Eddie.

Peter didn’t even get irritated at the word, just impressed at all Eddie had managed to uncover in a few seconds.

“A bit of it was luck too,” Eddie added. “If there wasn’t an accident connected to this then I probably wouldn’t have found much of anything.”

“Well it doesn’t make it any less impressive,” May replied.

“Sometimes my host is not so stupid,” rumbled Venom.

“Ah, that was almost a compliment,” Eddie sarcastically replied with a roll of his eyes. Still, the look they shared was even fonder than the one before which made Peter wonder…no. Better not to let his mind go in that direction.

Instead, Peter started to ramble off ideas on what they could do next to figure out where Dillon was staying now and—

“I am going back to San Francisco tomorrow,” Eddie carefully admitted.

“Oh. Right.”

Eddie winced at how downturned Peter’s face became. “It’s just that I already asked for an extension on my vacation days—”

“Yeah, no it’s ok! Really,” Peter pressed. “I just completely forgot about that.”

Peter quickly hid his disappointment, saying, “Yeah, cause Eddie’s sister got married and all. That’s why he’s here.”

“Oh that’s lovely. How was it?” asked May.

The conversation quickly turned to that, Eddie blushing at one point as Venom mentioned his superior dancing skills to that of Eddie’s. After dinner, Eddie took the time to help May and Peter clean up. He also pulled out his wallet and dropped some bills on Peter’s desk before it was time they left.

Before they could actually say goodbye though, it was clear an idea had popped into Peter’s mind and he quickly asked them to hold on just a second. As he rushed back to his room, May walked over to them, though Venom had already moved himself underneath Eddie’s skin.

“Thank you again for dinner. You really didn’t have to,” Eddie politely said.

“It was no problem. A friend of Peter’s is a friend of mine,” replied May. She looked down and then bit the bottom of her lip for a split second like she was kind of uncertain about her next set of words. Her nose wrinkled up, as she continued to think it through before her face became rather resolute. She looked him in the eyes again. “Mr. Brock?”

It looked like it was no longer “Eddie”. He quickly straightened just a little bit, ready for just about anything May was going to throw at him.

“Beyond the fact that Peter probably wants to take you to school as his next science fair project—”

It was hard not to laugh at that and May did pause to smile there. However she quickly continued.

“Other than that, I can tell he’s appreciated your help a lot. He likes you and he trusts you. Do not break that trust.”

“We wouldn’t—”

“He is all I have left and knowing he’s out there every day, risking his life for others…” May sniffed and quickly wiped at her eyes before any tears could fall. “He has Tony Stark but…it would ease my mind a little, knowing someone else is willing to risk their life for Peter as well. Even if you are leaving now, whenever you do happen to be in town—”

“We understand,” Eddie softly said, Venom’s voice just slightly discernible in the back of his throat. “We protect children and we certainly won’t do wrong by him.”

May sighed in relief, squeezing Eddie’s arm. “I trust Peter’s opinions on people, but I feel better having heard you say that,” she said just as Peter finally came back with a piece of paper.

“Here, this way if you’re ever back in town you can contact me directly through the suit,” Peter happily said, handing the note over. “Thanks again.”

“No problem Pete. Hopefully we will see you again soon,” Eddie smiled, finally heading towards the door and waving goodbye before May closed the door behind them. As Eddie carefully folded the number and put it into the small notebook he always carried around, Venom spoke.

 _She is the closest thing we have encountered to a true and positive maternal figure_ , Venom said. _I do not think we should cross one if at all possible._

“Now that we can completely agree on,” snorted Eddie. “Don’t mess with a mom. Or in this case an aunt.”

As he rounded the corner, he came face to face with an elderly woman. Eddie said a quick, “Excuse us,” but before he actually walked around she said, “You look a lot like Peter’s book bag,” and then happily continued shuffling away.

Eddie stared for a moment. “Do you have any idea what that was about?”

 _No_ , Venom replied, sounding just as confused as Eddie.

They just shrugged it off and quickly made their way downstairs and grabbed a cab back to the hotel. It was pretty late now and thankfully their original plans for the day had just been to explore the city. He was going to have breakfast with Mary and Ramesh again and then they had the long drive back to San Francisco.

Packing came easy as the tendrils shot out, grabbing what little they’d brought with them. Venom was actually a pretty clean alien and when Eddie was acting too lazy to help, sometimes he’d drag him up without asking and force him to clean their apartment too.

With everything quickly cleaned up and folded, Eddie decided to save a shower for the morning and quickly collapsed in bed. His neck was still stiff from the fall and as he pulled a pillow close, he could feel the symbiote slowly moving over and through him, doing the equivalent of massaging the muscles.

“We like Peter,” rumbled Venom.

“Yeah, we do. He’s a smart kid.”

“We like Mary.”

“I know where this is going,” murmured Eddie. He rolled over, one hand moving to rest on his chest as the symbiote curled up underneath and around his fingers.

_This city feels more alive. It is more full. Full of more challenges._

“It doesn’t mean just moving here is that easy,” sighed Eddie. “It’ll take work if we did.”

_That wasn’t a no._

“I suppose not,” sighed Eddie. He felt Venom slowly move around his fingers, over the knuckles and slipping in between them. He didn’t say more, honestly too tired from the day’s events to think of it. However, he had to admit that it had felt nice teaming up with someone. Well, someone else that is. The kid was a good kid and Eddie thought back on all that Stark had apparently done for him.

God he hoped that man really was looking out for the kid. Though admittedly his opinion on Stark had changed over the years after his business model had changed and he’d saved the world a few times, Eddie definitely wasn’t aboard the Stark hype train. Still, even if he hadn’t helped out Peter and given him access to better equipment, Peter would still be doing the same stuff he did anyways. With that in mind, it probably was better that he was fully equipped and at least a few people knew about his vigilante actions.

And now one of those people were themselves. And the look on Pete’s face when Eddie had reminded him they were leaving… And then his sister… God he’d missed spending time with her… And just the city in general, its personality but…

“I just don’t know,” murmured Eddie as he rolled back over and Venom migrated onto his back like a second blanket.

They both fell asleep rather quickly and slept soundly, with Venom even covering up Eddie’s eyes before the sun hit them in the morning. He slept an extra hour before sluggishly rolling out of bed and directly towards the shower. Since they were going to start their long days of driving, Eddie grabbed everything, checked out, put his things into the car, and then walked to the restaurant for breakfast.

His sister and new brother-in-law were already there. They started off just talking about the food and their respective days, Eddie easily making a boring little story about him just walking around the city yesterday.

“I’m guessing you weren’t on the west side of the island then,” his sister said.

“Oh?” Eddie asked, feigning disinterest.

“This creature was seen working alongside Spider-Man. The same one that was spotted a few days ago too,” Mary replied, pulling up her phone and showing some pictures.

“It’s so creepy,” Ramesh said with a slight shudder.

“I don’t know. I think whatever or whoever it is looks damn right awesome,” Mary said. “And I mean, they have to be a good guy if its working with Spider-Man.”

“I guess.”

Eddie just chuckled at the exchange as he felt Venom’s approval and pride at Mary’s comments.

“Anyways,” Mary said, shoving her phone away, “you’re going back to San Francisco. Back to work and all that.”

“Yeah, I—”

“And him?”

Eddie groaned, knowing this conversation was going to come sooner or later. “There isn’t anyone. I was just trying to get our father off my back. Ok?”

“Sure,” chuckled Mary. “I’ll find out who it is eventually. Just you count on that.”

“Not gonna happen in a million years.”

“So there is someone!”

“I mean it’s not going to happen because there isn’t anyone! Not because I’d succeed in keeping it from you,” sulked Eddie as he leaned back and crossed his arms. Venom chuckled in the back of his head.

“So you admit that I’ll find out eventually.”

“No!”

“Whatever you say little brother,” smirked Mary and Eddie could already imagine a dozen late night calls with her badgering him and Eddie having to lie. And very possibly Venom trying to make it awkward as shit because Eddie knew the kinds of games the symbiote played by now.

After breakfast, they went straight back to their car and got in. Eddie pulled up the GPS on his phone for when they got out of the city before he turned onto the busy street. Now that they were leaving, Eddie couldn’t help but mess with Venom’s idea of moving here more. He really…really was going to miss it.

He pushed those thoughts back, made all the easier once they were finally out of New York and Venom and he were quickly fighting over what music to play on the long ride home.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the last chapter! For now at least! I definitely have ideas for more stories but I'm not going to be able to write them for a while and I definitely don't want to leave everyone on some cliffhanger or anything like that. So, with that in mind, a massive thank you to everyone who's read this. It means a lot and I definitely wouldn't have had the pull to finish this so quickly without all the awesome kudos and comments and support! Thank you!

Eddie had been busy in the past two months. Besides keeping up with work there’d been a shit ton of paperwork and bills and lease information he’d been looking over along with interviews and long winded promises and legal information and just…urgh. It had been painful.

But he was through most of it and now came the truly difficult part. Despite the lack of history and connection with San Francisco, there was one thing he was leaving behind that truly mattered.

He came up to the door, knocking a few times before pulling back and waiting with hands in his pockets. The door opened and though it wasn’t who he wanted to talk to, he smiled all the same.

“Oh, hey Dan.”

“Eddie, it’s good to see you. You look well.”

“Yeah, definitely feeling a lot better compared to when you last saw me,” Eddie chuckled. “Is Anne home? I wanted to talk to her.”

Dan nodded. “Come on in. Is it private? I can leave if you want.”

“What? No, no it’s fine! I mean I guess…technically you should probably…never mind,” Eddie said, stumbling over his words as Dan just looked at him in mild amusement.

_Smooth._

_Shut up,_ Eddie internally groaned.

“Sit down and I’ll be right back. Just made coffee too so help yourself,” Dan added.

Eddie did just that, finally sitting back down and sipping from the black coffee. It didn’t take long for them both to be back down, Anne looking surprised but pleased to see him.

“Hey Eddie.”

“Hi,” he replied.

“So what’s this you have to tell us?” Anne asked as they both sat down.

“Well I’m…I’m leaving San Francisco. Figured I should come tell you, not just throw it into some text or something. You know?”

Anne slowly nodded. “And is there anything else you wanted to tell us?”

“Uh, no?”

Anne rolled her eyes and Dan let out a small sigh. “I told you he wouldn’t tell us,” she said and Dan just shrugged in response.

“Wait, what—”

“You really didn’t expect me to see something about this? Just because I’m not with you doesn’t mean I don’t watch the news anymore,” snorted Anne as she smoothly pulled out her phone. She flipped through a few pictures and then slid her phone across to him. “Really Eddie?”

He looked at the blurry image of Venom. “Oh. That.”

“Yes, oh that. Come on out,” Anne said as she gestured with her finger.

Very slowly Venom did so, forming on Eddie’s shoulder. Dan leaned back just a little bit as Anne gave them both an exasperated look.

“Hello Anne,” said Venom.

“Hi,” she muttered. She shook her head and focused back on Eddie. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“I-I just didn’t—”

“Don’t you dare say you didn’t want to put me in danger. I’ve heard that line enough in bad B-movies,” Anne said with a pointed stare.

“Alright…fair enough,” sighed Eddie. “I just didn’t…we had things to figure out. On our own.”

Anne gave a small nod, at least accepting that answer. “So where are you moving to?”

“Back to New York.”

Anne smirked. “They let you back in?”

“What happened in New York?” asked Dan.

“About the same thing that happened with Carlton Drake here. Only Eddie didn’t get his redemption arc,” snorted Anne. “The Daily Globe couldn’t possibly be taking you back.”

“No, it’s the Daily Bugle this time.”

“You always hated them though.”

“Yeah, well Jameson’s gone and it’s a bit more like a proper news organization now. Besides, they’re the only ones who were willing to take the risk,” admitted Eddie.

“Not surprising there,” responded Anne.

“When are you leaving?” asked Dan.

“In the next few days. We’ve been putting everything in place in the past weeks. Taken a lot of work but it’s almost paid off.”

“I’m guessing it’s because of the wedding?” asked Anne, remembering Eddie had mentioned it to her in passing.

“Yeah, I realized how much I’d missed it and—”

“Just one damn moment,” interrupted Anne. She pointed at Venom. “That means you met his father before me!”

“To be fair, you weren’t missing much,” muttered Eddie.

“We also danced,” Venom smugly said.

Eddie groaned as Anne and Dan looked between each other. “I really wish you’d stop telling people that.”

“Telling-someone else knows about Venom?” asked Dan.

“Oh, uh yeah. I met Spider-Man.”

“What?!” they both cried. “Well don’t just leave it at that,” Dan said. “What happened?” asked Anne.

Eddie chuckled at their surprised reactions as he and Venom gave a brief overview of all that had occurred. They didn’t reveal that they actually knew who Spider-Man was or that he was just a kid, but they told about the two fights and a bit on their conversations between each other.

“New York presents challenges,” Venom said. “It promises a busy schedule.”

“Yes, I think you would fit just fine in there,” replied Anne.

“Um, and are you doing well?” asked Dan. At Venom’s quick motion to look at him, Dan quickly said, “I um-I guess I should apologize for last time.”

“What no. It’s not—”

“Let him speak,” interrupted Venom. Eddie just rolled his eyes.

“Sorry for hurting you. Both of you. I was just doing what I thought was best,” Dan said.

“You are a doctor. A doctor’s goal is to heal and save when possible,” Venom said.

“Well yes, exactly—”

“Don’t get too excited,” Eddie interrupted. “He learned it from _House_.”

“Oh.”

“In the end, separation proved most useful,” Venom finished. “You are forgiven.”

“Oh, glad to hear that,” Dan said, actually showing a visible sigh of relief. “You know, if you do ever need a check up, obviously off the books, I don’t mind helping.”

“That’s appreciated even if it’s kind of bad timing,” Eddie admitted.

“Well I wouldn’t mind flying out there. There’s plenty of symposiums and the like I have to go to,” Dan admitted. “I’m sure a few will line up just fine. If you want the help, of course.”

Eddie looked to Venom, silently asking the question before they both looked back to Dan. “Thank you,” they said at the same time. “That’s really nice of you,” Eddie added.

“It’s no problem, really,” Dan smiled. “Before you leave I can do a quick check up on you so I can figure out what your normal is now. It’ll make it easier to see when something’s wrong later down the road.”

“Sure,” Eddie said just as Venom said, “Acceptable.”

“When are you leaving again?” asked Anne.

“Uh, Tuesday? I think? It could change. Basically I just have to do one last interview for work and then I’m free to join the Bugle.”

“Who is it? Anyone we’d know?” asked Dan.

“Probably. Cletus Kasady. No one else wants to do it but considering he’s willing to talk it would be a waste if our network doesn’t get anything from him,” Eddie said with a shrug.

Dan shivered. “Considering what they’ve been allowed to say on the TV so far, I can understand why. You sure you’ll be alright?”

“No harm will come to Eddie,” Venom simply replied.

“Ah, right. How could I forget,” Dan replied as a slight chuckle escaped Anne’s lips.

Her smile turned a little softer and she murmured, “I’m happy you’ve gotten things sorted out. And I’m glad you’re going back to New York. I always knew you truly missed it no matter what you told me.”

“Yeah, I can admit that now,” Eddie agreed. He hesitated, taking a quick sip of his coffee. “Well, I still have some last minutes things I gotta do…”

“Of course,” Anne replied.

“Yeah. If you want, I can set a time for you to come to my office,” added Dan.

“That would be great. What about sometime this weekend?”

Plans were made and then Eddie and Venom headed back home. There wasn’t much to take but Eddie had rented a truck so everything could be taken in one go, including the motorcycle. Thankfully he wouldn’t need any help lifting the couch or bed thanks to Venom and he’d have all the other things in the studio apartment he had set up. The place was going to be a lot smaller than his current one, not that Eddie would mind. His roommate didn’t take up a lot of space.

The next few days slowly passed. Eddie went to Dan’s office for the checkup. Then it was the fucked up interview with Cletus, his bloody welcoming and everything, and then it was finally the day.

With everything figured out, the only thing Eddie was kind of worried about was the symbiote’s pension for eating people. They’d talked about it a lot and to help the move, they had eaten a few bad guys beforehand. Still, Eddie was sure something would happen sooner or later. Maybe the symbiote would just be starving. Maybe it would be a him or us situation with no other way out. Eddie wasn’t sure.

However, whatever occurred, Eddie knew he wouldn’t lie to Peter. They’d been truthful about their past and it would only hurt more if they hid something like that and Peter found out from some other source. That conversation would be difficult and Eddie wasn’t sure how much that friendship would last if Peter actually had to come face to face with it.

Either way, Eddie just hoped that conversation was a longtime coming.

They moved the furniture and bike into the moving truck and then it was off across state lines. Once they actually left California, Eddie couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Though he already missed Anne, a fleeting thought of Dan even passed his mind, he’d never felt connected to the state and after all that had gone down with Carlton Drake…

Eddie was glad to leave those memories behind as was Venom.

* * *

“You know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” May said.

“I know. I know,” Peter replied. “I just want to help out and…”

“No, absolutely not,” smiled May. “If anything, this will go towards your college tuition. You don’t owe me anything.”

“You sure?”

“Of course Peter. I just want to make sure you know that you don’t have to do this. You already have so much on your plate.”

“Yeah, though sadly I can’t put being Spider-Man on my resume,” chuckled Peter.

“True. Now that I will give you,” May warmly said. “I’m still curious why you didn’t ask Mr. Stark for a more concrete internship of sorts.”

“This is my first job. I just…I wanted to get this one on my own. You know? And Mr. Stark wouldn’t have hesitated,” admitted Peter. “I could have gotten anything with him. But I got this job all on my own.”

“Yes you did. And I’m so proud of you for it,” May replied, kissing his forehead before she brushed his hair back. “Now, let me look at you again.”

She looked Peter up and down, smoothing out his shirt a bit more and unbuttoning the top button for him. “Since you don’t have a tie…there. That looks a bit more natural sweetheart.”

“Thanks,” Peter smiled. He grabbed an old messenger bag that he’d gotten recently for the job, not wanting to seem too much like a kid with his book bag. “I better get going. Don’t want to be late on the first day.”

May kissed him on the forehead again and then Peter was rushing out the door and down the street. He took the subway, bouncing up and down as he went. The past few weeks had been pretty busy, Peter using the information Eddie had given him to track down Electro and put a stop to him once and for all. During that, he’d caught sight of a photographer for some newspaper nearby and the idea had just struck him.

He liked photography just fine and actually seeing someone in action made Peter decide to put his hobby to good use. Besides, it might just mean being Spider-Man could help pay the bills (he didn’t care what May said, he was going to help her anyways).

Peter got to the Daily Bugle early, something which he doubted would actually become a pattern considering how often some type of robbery or mugging made him late. At the very least he was going to start out with a good reputation, regardless of what happened later on.

He rushed into the building, giving his name at reception where he was asked to wait. It thankfully didn’t take long before he was called back up and given a temporary identification badge and pushed towards one woman.

“Hi, I’m Betty Brant. Now don’t get any ideas, I’m as much a reporter as any of the other hotshots but we haven’t hired a new secretary yet. Until then, you’ll get your checks from me. You’re not on payroll so you don’t get a biweekly check. You’ll just get paid every time you take photos and we accept them, got it?”

“Yeah-I mean yes! Yes ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” she laughed. “Betty is just fine kid, though if you keep those manners up with the boss you’ll fit in nicely around here.”

Peter smiled at that, feeling hopeful as they went up the elevator. She started listing off the floors and who was where and if he had a problem with one thing then who to talk to and if he had a problem with something else then he needed to talk this other person and so on and so forth. It was a lot to take in but thankfully Peter had a good memory.

“Now you don’t have a desk but we are pairing you with someone since your job is labeled as an internship and we need someone to be looking after you.”

Peter chuckled at that.

“He’s new too but he’s been in the business for a while so he should be able to give you a few good pointers, especially on what not to do,” Betty snorted. “Still don’t know why we hired the bastard. If he costs us…well at least it’s not my fault.”

Peter raised his eyebrows at that. The way she said it suggested she found the whole thing more amusing than anything. Hopefully Peter wouldn’t have to worry about the guy and he was nice enough.

They arrived at their floor, the place large and bustling. Betty mentioned people’s names as they passed them, a few pausing to say hi. She moved around the sea of desks and called out, “Brock? Got you an intern.”

“You got me a what—Pete?!”

Peter’s mouth dropped open as he walked around the desk just in time to see Eddie spin around in his chair. His desk was empty besides a computer though there was a box of items underneath it full of his things.

“Wait, you know each other?” Betty asked incredulously.

“Yeah I—” Eddie stopped and a smirk came across his face. “I’m a distant uncle.”

“Oh, right on,” Betty said, not getting that it was a joke as Peter laughed. “Well, I hope you have more sense than him. And you,” she said as she pointed at him, “Robbie specifically told me to keep my eye on you. You go too far and you’re out of here. Got it?”

“I got that part but when the hell was it decided I get an intern?”

“Just now,” smirked Betty. She gave a little wave. “Have fun.”

Peter watched her go before whipping his head back around towards Eddie, a smile stretched wide across his face. “You’re working at the Bugle?”

“We are working at the Bugle.”

“You moved here?”

“We moved here,” Eddie laughed, not bothering to watch the pronoun slip up around Peter. “So we have an intern, huh?”

“Yeah uh, photography specifically.”

“Nonsense, if you’re with us kid, I will give you the whole rundown. Though I’m assuming you don’t need any pointers on how to follow others and not be seen.”

Peter laughed and nodded in agreement at that. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me sooner.”

“It’s been a lot of work getting everything planned. And to be fair this is only the second day. How’s your other job been? I saw you managed to track down Electro pretty quickly.”

“Only thanks to you,” replied Peter. “It wouldn’t have been that easy if you hadn’t known what to look up.”

“Is that part of the reason you took the job? To be close to the press when someone else like Electro shows up?”

“That…sounds like an excellent reason,” Peter slowly admitted. “I actually was just trying to find a job that I could put some of my skills to use and…well I like photography and I can certainly get shots that other people can’t so…”

“Hey, that’s as good a reason as any,” chuckled Eddie. “I was actually getting ready to go out. It’s nothing big, they’re mainly wanting me to get my feet wet and see how I do.”

“You mean to see if you really will start causing trouble right away,” Peter said.

“Basically. Though…the good thing is if I can’t move legally with something…well I have another friend who can help.”

“Yeah!”

Eddie laughed. “I was meaning more Venom—”

“Oops.”

“But don’t worry kid. You count too.”

“Oh, thanks,” Peter smiled.

Eddie got up, grabbing his leather jacket and slipping it on. “Come on, let’s get this first job done for both of us so we can show the big guys we’re worth our paychecks.”

Peter grinned and quickly nodded as Eddie led the way back out of the office. As they got on the elevator, Peter added, “You should come over for dinner tonight.”

“Really? You think it would be alright with your aunt?”

“Definitely! May was going to do something special for my first day on the job. Ned and MJ will be there too so you wouldn’t be able to show, you know, but I’d like it if you were there too.”

“Thank you,” Eddie smiled. “I’ll have to introduce you to my sister sometime then. Only fair, right?”

Peter nodded. They walked out of the elevator and then the building.

“Which car is yours?”

Eddie snorted and Peter quickly saw why as they came up to the bike.

“Oh that’s awesome!”

“Thanks. Ever ridden one?”

“No and-but there’s only one helmet. I’m sure you technically don’t need one but I mean it’s the law and—”

“No worries. If you’re going to be my intern, I’ll get one just for you later,” Eddie said as he handed his own helmet to Peter. “But for now…” Eddie looked around to make sure no one was watching only for the black ooze of Venom to morph around Eddie’s head, forming a new black helmet.

“You can do that!” Peter cried in a high pitched, excited voice.

“Yep,” Eddie replied as he got onto the bike and turned it on. “Hop on.”

Peter tightened his bag around his shoulders and then quickly put the helmet on. As he sat down behind Eddie who pulled Peter’s arms around him.

“Alright, nice and tight and just remember to bend with me when we’re turning. Ok?”

“Got it,” Peter replied.

“Good.” Eddie kicked the stand out and then double checked that Peter was positioned right, feeling the kid’s arms tighten around him. “Yep, right there. Hope you enjoy traveling like this because you’re going to have to get used to it working with me.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Peter laughed.

“Good. Here’s to working with you, kid,” Eddie replied, revving the engine before they sped off into the streets.


End file.
